NASA Warns California Drought Could Threaten U.S. Food Supply: ‘There will be some definite changes’

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has sounded a stark warning over California’s sustained drought, publishing its latest findings where satellite surveys show a rapidly depleting groundwater supply. And with California as the United States’ most valuable agricultural state, and thus key to America’s food supply (and much of the world’s as well) that could mean drastic consequences for food commodity prices and potential shortages. The Nature Climate Change journal carried the report, which Think Progress summarized:

Police Deny Responsibility After Stingray Cell Phone Tracker Discovered in Idaho

State and federal law enforcement groups throughout Idaho are remaining tight-lipped after a local mobile security advocate uncovered what appears to be an IMSI catcher, commonly referred to as a Stingray cell phone interceptor, operating in one of the state’s largest cities. The local advocate, who discovered signs of the interceptor in Idaho Falls, was able to detect its specific indicators while using a CryptoPhone, a mobile device which warns users of possible cell interception. Attempting to investigate, Idaho’s KTVB 7 News reached out to several law enforcement agencies in the Treasure Valley area in an effort to determine the device’s owner.

Asteroid will pass so close to Earth in 2029 it will trigger asteroid avalanche

The more pessimistic among our readership might already be digging bunkers in their backyards in anticipation of April 13th, 2029. On that day (a Friday nonetheless), an asteroid called 99942 Apophis will come perilously close to Earth. The most recent data suggests that it will miss us by a mere 35,000 kilometers, a hairs breadth in astronomical terms.

Ebola in Sierra Leone is ‘spreading nine times faster than two months ago’, campaigners warn

Cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone are still rising quickly, campaigners have warned. In rural parts of the country, the virus is spreading nine times faster than two months ago, a report from the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) found. AGI – an organisation set up by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair – said rates are also increasing in the capital Freetown, with six times more new cases recorded per day than two months ago.

Touch Screen Flips Votes in Key Senate Race

The trustworthiness of electronic voting machines has once again come under scrutiny after a touch screen in North Carolina flipped a man’s vote from Democrat to Republican in a key Senate race. “Percy Bostick, 69, of Greensboro said he tried casting a vote for Democrat Kay Hagan at the Old Guilford County Courthouse, only to have the machine register Republican Thom Tillis as his choice,” reports the News-Record. Bostick was forced to vote four times before the machine accurately recorded his choice.

Cybersecurity Experts: ‘Donald Duck Could Be Elected’ Because Of Shoddy Electronic Voting System

Cybersecurity experts have warned that a highly flawed and vulnerable electronic voting system in Alaska could, by itself, swing the entire outcome of the mid-term elections and decide whether Democrats remain in control of the Senate. A report from The Intercept highlights how easy hackers could intercept and change electronic ballots before they are counted by county elections departments in the Last Frontier State. The report notes that thousands of voters will register electronically to receive a PDF ballot on their computer.

Former CBS News Reporter Sharyl Attkisson Says That Obama Has An Enemies List

Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative journalist who became the story when she quit CBS News after two decades amid allegations that the network refused to run some of her stories that were critical of President Barack Obama. Ahead of the Tuesday release of her book Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington, she spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her struggles with CBS executives and her assertion that her computers were hacked, possibly by Obama operatives.

The Case Against Gun Control – Part I

(The following is a guest commentary contributed by J.Vanne) “Quemadmoeum gladuis neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.”(A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer’s hands.

It’s Currency War! – And Japan Has Fired The First Shot

This is the big problem with fiat currency – eventually the temptation to print more of it when you are in a jam becomes too powerful to resist. In a surprise move on Friday, the Bank of Japan dramatically increased the size of the quantitative easing program that it has been conducting. This sent Japanese stocks soaring and the Japanese yen plunging.

Ebola outbreak caused by new strain never seen before; was it weaponized?

Noted infectious disease experts have said that the current strain of Ebola virus plaguing Africa and slowly spreading in the United States is potentially much more lethal than previous strains identified by virologists. As reported by Washington’s Blog, Dr. Michael Osterholm, the head of the Center for Infection Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, a prominent public health researcher who is nationally recognized, gave a talk in recent days explaining what another top Ebola virologist has found.

Obama Orders Insurance Industry to Withhold New Prices Until AFTER Midterm Elections

There is also something different with these cancellations, something that has never happened before in the healthcare insurance industry. Past practice has always been that the next year’s new rates are released 60 days before the first day of the next year. But Obama has mandated that companies hold back on that normal practice so that he can shield Democrats at the polls.

Possible Oregon Ebola Case, Local Hospitals On Alert

State health officials announced in a press conference today that a woman who has been under monitoring for Ebola has been isolated at a Portland-area hospital and is no danger to the public. The woman had recently traveled to one of the three countries where the Ebola outbreak is occurring—Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone—and was being actively monitored by public health officials. She developed a sustained fever this morning, after which she received an in-person assessment by an EMS team wearing personal protective equipment.

‘Perfectly healthy’ Florida girl paralyzed with rare brain infection four days after receiving flu shot

A 10-year-old girl in Florida has been paralyzed for almost a year with a rare inflammation of the brain and her family is blaming a flu vaccine. According to Carla Grivna, her daughter Marysue was living a perfectly healthy and happy life until last year. ‘She (used to) love school, she was running, playing, singing in the church choir,’ Grivna told WTSP.

Europe has 421 million fewer birds than it did 30 years ago

Europe has an estimated 421 million fewer birds than three decades ago, and current treatment of the environment is unsustainable for many common species, a study released on Monday said. The population crash is related to modern farming methods and the loss and damage of habitats, according to the study published in science journal Ecology Letters. “This is a warning from birds throughout Europe.

Samsung ‘Smart TV’ Records “Personal” Conversations & Sends Them to Third Parties

Samsung’s new global privacy policy for its line of Smart TVs states that a user’s personal conversations will be recorded by the device’s microphone and transmitted to third parties. A 46-page privacy policy which is now included in all newly purchased Samsung Smart TVs states that voice recognition technology “may capture voice commands and associated texts” in order to “improve the features” of the system. The policy, a summary of which is also posted online, ominously advises users to, “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.

Temple Mount crisis fuels unrest in volatile Jerusalem

Swirling winds and heavy downpours probably did more than the massive Israeli police presence to dampen Palestinian protests in Jerusalem over the weekend. Dire predictions that a third intifada was about to erupt after the brief closure of the Temple Mount — known to Arabs as the Noble Sanctuary — came to nothing. But the weather could not sweep away the toxic atmosphere in the city.