A Chinese firm sues President Obama over a blocked wind-farm proposal; suicide bombings kill dozens in Syria; and a Senate inquiry blasts Homeland Security “fusion centers.” Meanwhile, April Hernandez-Castillo has a baby girl; and American Idol is set to continue despite an altercation between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.
Caitlin + David
CRITICAL
China firm sues Obama over blocked US wind farm deal, http://bbc.in/Snna1O
Ralls Corp, a Chinese-owned firm located in the U.S., is suing President Barack Obama after the President blocked a proposed wind-farm deal on the grounds of national security. The proposed wind farm would be located in Oregon near a U.S. naval facility. A statement from the White House said “There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Ralls Corporation… might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” while China’s state-run news agency accused the President of “China-bashing” in order “to woo some blue-collar voters” ahead of the November elections. It is the first foreign investment to be blocked by the United States in 22 years.
Suicide Bombings Kill 33 in Syrian City of Aleppo, http://abcn.ws/UFALO6
Three suicide bombers used cars packed with explosives to kill at least 33 people in the main square of the Syrian city of Aleppo, destroying buildings and leaving survivors trapped among the rubble. No group has claimed immediate responsibility for the bombings, but the Syrian government has blamed opposition forces. Concerns that terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Sunni extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra are making inroads in the fractured nation are rising, as the civil war threatens to further damage historic locations in Syria.
DHS ‘fusion centers’ portrayed as pools of ineptitude, civil liberties intrusions, http://wapo.st/QCZ9hY
Despite as much as $1.4 billion in federal spending, the nationwide network of so-called “fusion centers” designed to handle data relating to homeland security have done little to make the nation more secure, a Senate inquiry has found. In a “scathing” 141-page report, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs claimed that the centers indulged in wasteful spending and “often produced irrelevant, useless or inappropriate intelligence reporting to DHS, and many produced no intelligence reporting whatsoever.” In a response Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security claimed the report relied on out-of-date information and that investigators misunderstood the role of the fusion centers.
CULTURAL
April Hernandez-Castillo Welcomes Daughter Summer Rose, http://bit.ly/ODosoI
‘American Idol’ Auditions Slated To Continue After Mariah Carey-Nicki Minaj Fight, http://bit.ly/Spvyy0
Caught Creeping! Chris Brown Spotted Leaving Rihanna’s NYC Hotel (PHOTOS), http://bit.ly/UbOZeV
James Rosemond Jr. Signs Cincinnati Rapper Lantana To New Label RoyalDreams Music Group, http://bit.ly/SF7j9E
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David Heckman Bio: David is a senior English major at UMBC and Communications Intern with Rock the Vote. Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
