Lawmakers Fail to Reach Student Loan Deal Before July 4 Break

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Photo Credit:: AP

Photo Credit:: AP

Interest rates on student loans are set to double on Monday after lawmakers failed to find a bipartisan solution to keep the federally subsidized borrowing costs down.

The Senate adjourned Thursday night for the July 4 recess without approving a student loan rate package.

With the current, 3.4 percent interest rate on Stafford loans — the most popular funding for college students – set to expire on July 1, a host of 11th-hour fixes all failed to generate support from both sides of the aisle. Without new legislation — either to extend the cap, set a new one or find another way to peg the loans – the cap rises to 6.8 percent. Congress could always forge a solution in the following days, even lowering rates retroactively.

The higher rates would add about $3,000 to the total interest on a $23,000 student loan repaid over 10 years.

“At one level it’s modest, but if you have an entry-level position or can’t find work, it starts to add up,” Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council of Education, told FoxNews.com.

Read more from this story HERE.

Christie Now Trying to Back Away from Obama: I Didn’t Vote for Him, He Doesn’t Lead

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Republicans accused New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of getting too cozy with President Obama after Superstorm Sandy.

But during a visit Friday to a Republican stronghold, the governor went out of his way to put some distance between himself and the Democratic president.

Before taking questions from the public, Christie spoke about the problems in Washington and “a president who can’t figure out how to lead.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Bert and Ernie Come Out in New Yorker Magazine (+video)

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

In the hotly contested debate over whether “Sesame Street” characters Bert and Ernie are homosexual, the iconic puppets have apparently come out of the closet on the latest cover of the New Yorker magazine.

The famous characters are depicted snuggling up together in front of a TV while looking at an image of the Supreme Court justices in their black robes.

“It’s amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime,” said Jack Hunter, the artist behind the cover. “This is great for our kids, a moment we can all celebrate.” Hunter calls the image, “Moment of Joy.”

There have long been rumors about the nature of Bert and Ernie’s relationship.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘Absolutely Incredible’: Canadians Outraged After Flooding Prompts Involuntary Firearm Confiscation (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Canadians in the High River area of Alberta – many already “irate” at not being able to return to their homes after massive flooding last week – were shocked to learn late Thursday that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have seized a “large quantity of firearms” from their evacuated houses.

RCMP Sergeant Patricia Neely said that “Firearms that were unsafely stored in plain sight were seized for safekeeping,” but Sgt. Brian Topham told the National Post that officers forced their way into many of the homes because of “urgent need.”

“We just want to make sure that all of those things are in a spot that we control, simply because of what they are,” Sgt. Topham said. “People have a significant amount of money invested in firearms … so we put them in a place that we control and that they’re safe.”

They will be returned to residents with proof of ownership after the evacuation order — which is now into its eighth day — is lifted, authorities say.

Business owner Brenda Lackey told the Globe and Mail: “Now what they’re doing is looking for firearms and ammunition. How do they have the right to do that? What does that have to do with the disaster? …This is martial law. What has happened to our country?”

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Senator Demands Sex-Assault Answers From Holder

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Sen. John McCain, R, Ariz., who challenged Barack Obama for the White House in 2008, has demanded Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, answer why his agency is arbitrarily changing court-approved sex-assault standards for American colleges and universities.

The dispute is raging over a settlement the DOJ with the University of Montana that inserts new language into requirements for the proper investigation and prosecution of sexual-assault allegations on campus.

The new DOJ standard says that “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” is sexual harassment, which critics already have argued could include unwanted flirting or date invitations and some content of classroom curricula.

And the new policy demands immediate discipline for those accused of offending – hearkening to “Alice in Wonderland,” where the standard was sentence first, verdict later.

McCain, the ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote to the DOJ expressing his concern that the civil rights division under Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez “has circumvented the regular rulemaking process and congressional authority by redefining long-standing legal precedent,” according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

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Charge Dismissed Against Student Who Refused to Remove NRA Shirt

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Photo Credit: 13 News

Photo Credit: 13 News

The West Virginia eighth-grader arrested after refusing a teacher’s demand he remove a National Rifle Association T-shirt he wore to school won’t face criminal charges after all.

Jared Marcum, 14, was charged with obstruction following the April 18 incident after police who were called to Logan Middle School school said he refused to stop talking. The case generated national headlines, as Marcum’s family and attorney, Ben White, claimed the demand that he remove the NRA shirt violated his right to freedom of speech. On Thursday, Logan County Circuit Judge Eric O’Briant signed an order dismissing the charge.

Marcum’s mother, Tanya Lardieri, told WOWK that she was overcome with emotion after signing a dismissal order relating to the charge. The boy’s father, Allen Lardieri, said the couple is just glad Eric’s legal troubles are behind him.

“It should have come sooner but it’s done and we don’t have to have that concern anymore about him having a criminal record,” Allen Lardieri told WOWK. “I’m just glad that it’s over. His mother is glad it’s over.”

After he was charged, Marcum faced up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. Although the charge related to the boy’s behavior after the incident began, White said the school’s unreasonable demand that he take off the shirt caused the situation to get out of control.

Read more from this story HERE.

Study: TV’s Newest Obsession Is Serial Killers

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Photo Credit: Hollywood Reporter

Photo Credit: Hollywood Reporter

In the wake of mass killings at Sandy Hook elementary school, a movie theater in Colorado and the Boston Marathon, some have sought to blame — partially or in full — the glorified violence on film and television. Seeking to add momentum to that theory is an analysis due out shortly that ridicules TV’s latest obsession: serial killers.

The analysis, obtained exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, says that seven new shows glamorizing serial killers were added at networks this season, bringing the total 20.

The analysis also quotes Hollywood insiders either defending or criticizing their own product, and it cites instances where real-life murderers said their crimes were inspired by TV shows, linking to news stories in each case. Showtime’s Dexter, a show about a serial killer who kills serial killers and which will ends its eight-season run this year, comes under particular scrutiny.

Besides linking to a Dexter kill list that enumerates 125 gruesome deaths, the study says “at least three brutal murders and one attempted murder have been inspired by the show.” In each case, the study includes a quote from the real-life murderer. Example: “I made a few attempts to chop her up like Dexter with Masters power tools but I was afraid it was too loud and it sucked at cutting flesh … I thought … it would be simple, like Dexter,” said a San Diego woman who confessed that Dexter showed her how to murder and mutilate a woman in 2012.

The analysis also excoriates The Following, a Fox show where Kevin Bacon plays an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer portrayed by James Purefoy; Bates Motel, an A&E series that is a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho; and Hannibal, an NBC series based on the Hannibal Lecter character, the brilliant cannibal featured in the best picture Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs and its follow-ups.

Read more from this story HERE.

Iran: Syrian Crisis Prelude to Coming of Mahdi

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

A high Iranian politician believes the Syrian revolution could be the catalyst for sparking a worldwide conflagration that will usher in an era of Muslim domination of the world.

“One can smell from the crisis in Syria the coming … of the end of times and the coming of the last Islamic messiah,” said Ruhollah Hosseinian, a member of the Islamic regime’s parliament. Previously he was deputy of the Intelligence Ministry and a member of board of trustees of Islamic Revolution Document Center.

Shiites, whose clerics rule Iran with an iron fist, believe that at the end of times, the 12th Imam, Mahdi, a 9th century prophet, will reappear with Jesus Christ at his side, kill all the infidels and raise the flag of Islam in all four corners of the world. Many analysts believe Iran is seeking nuclear capability to bring on that Armageddon.

Based on hadiths by Muhammad and his descendants, the Syrian revolution is a start to the coming of Mahdi, Hosseinian said in a speech quoted Thursday by Fars News Agency, a media outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards.

“Imam Sadegh (the Shiites’ 4th Imam) has stated, when the masters of the yellow flag (Lebanese Hezbollah) engage in a conflict with anti-Shiite elements in Damascus and Iranian forces join them, this is a sign and a prelude to the coming of his highness (Mahdi),” Hosseinian said. “We see that (now) the masters of the yellow flag are engaged with anti-Shiite groups in Damascus. Perhaps this is the event that promises the coming and that we must prepare ourselves.”

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Middle-Class Rage Sparks Protest Movements in Turkey, Brazil, Bulgaria and Beyond

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Photo Credit: Washington Post

Photo Credit: Washington Post

As protests raged in Turkey and were set to explode in distant Brazil, Asen Genov sat in his office in Bulgaria’s capital on the cloudy morning of June 14, about to strike the computer key that would spark a Bulgarian Spring.

Only months earlier, public outrage over high electricity bills in the country had brought down a previous government, but Genov saw more reason for anger when the new administration tapped a shadowy media mogul to head the national security service. Furious, Genov posted a Facebook event calling for a protest in Sofia, the nation’s capital, though he was dubious about turnout for a demonstration focused not on pocketbooks but on corruption and cronyism in government.

“We made bets on how many would come. I thought maybe 500,” said Genov, a 44-year- old who helps run a fact-checking Web site.

But as he arrived in Sofia’s Independence Square, they were streaming in by the thousands, as they have every day since, with the snowballing protests aiming to topple the government.

“We are all linked together, Bulgaria, Turkey, Brazil. We are tweeting in English so we can understand each other, and supporting each other on other social media,” said Iveta Cherneva, a 29-year-old author in Sofia, who was one of the many peopleprotesting for the first time. “We are fighting for different reasons, but we all want our governments to finally work for us. We are inspiring each other.”

Read more from this story HERE.

US Warns Against Egypt Travel After Reports Say American Killed

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Photo Credit: Sky News

Photo Credit: Sky News

By Associated Press. The Obama administration on Friday warned Americans against all but essential travel to Egypt and moved to reduce the official U.S. presence in the country amid fears of widespread unrest.

Just hours after Egyptian officials said an American had been killed in clashes between government supporters and opponents in the city of Alexandria, the State Department said Americans should defer nonessential travel to Egypt, citing the uncertain security situation. It also said it would allow some nonessential staff and the families of personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to leave Egypt until conditions improve.

“Political unrest, which intensified prior to the constitutional referendum in December 2012 and the anniversary in 2013 of Egypt’s 25th January Revolution, is likely to continue in the near future due to unrest focused on the first anniversary of the president’s assumption of office,” it said. “Demonstrations have, on occasion, degenerated into violent clashes between police and protesters, resulting in deaths, injuries and extensive property damage.”

“Participants have thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails and security forces have used tear gas and other crowd control measures against demonstrators. There are numerous reports of the use of firearms as well,” it said. Read more from this story HERE.

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US Citizen Killed In Alexandria Protests

By Sky News. Violent clashes in the Egyptian city of Alexandria have left two people dead and more than 70 people injured.

A senior security official said a 21-year-old US male died from a stab wound to the chest after violence erupted between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi.

The second victim was shot dead during the clashes.

It comes as leading clerics warned of “civil war” in Egypt after violence in the last week has left several dead and hundreds wounded.

They backed President Morsi’s offer to talk to opposition groups ahead of mass protests scheduled for Sunday. Read more from this story HERE.