Russian Hackers Read Obama’s Emails, Officials Now Say

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Photo Credit: NY Times

Photo Credit: NY Times

Some of President Obama’s email correspondence was swept up by Russian hackers last year in a breach of the White House’s unclassified computer system that was far more intrusive and worrisome than has been publicly acknowledged, according to senior American officials briefed on the investigation.

The hackers, who also got deeply into the State Department’s unclassified system, do not appear to have penetrated closely guarded servers that control the message traffic from Mr. Obama’s BlackBerry, which he or an aide carries constantly.

But they obtained access to the email archives of people inside the White House, and perhaps some outside, with whom Mr. Obama regularly communicated. From those accounts, they reached emails that the president had sent and received, according to officials briefed on the investigation.

White House officials said that no classified networks had been compromised, and that the hackers had collected no classified information. Many senior officials have two computers in their offices, one operating on a highly secure classified network and another connected to the outside world for unclassified communications.

But officials have conceded that the unclassified system routinely contains much information that is considered highly sensitive: schedules, email exchanges with ambassadors and diplomats, discussions of pending personnel moves and legislation, and, inevitably, some debate about policy. (Read more from “Russian Hackers Read Obama’s Unclassified Emails, Officials Say” HERE)

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Russia Took Control Over 20% of US Uranium After Uranium One’s Associates Made Lavish Contributions to Clinton Foundation

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Hillary ClintonA New York Times investigation reveals scandalous details of the Russian nuclear state corporation Rosatom’s acquisition of Uranium One Inc., that established one of the biggest uranium mining firms in the world.

“I am pleased to inform you that today we control 20 percent of uranium in the United States. If we need that uranium, we shall be able to use it any time,” Russian state corporation Rosatom’s head Sergey Kiriyenko said in his address speech to the Russian Parliament after Rosatom consolidated 100% of Uranium One Inc. (U1) in January 2013 and takes it private.

This speech was the final point that sealed the five-year-long-lasted Rosatom – U1 deal triumphantly for Russia, which gained control of more than 20% of uranium resources in the United States, as well as acquired lowest-cost production mines in Kazakhstan.

Today, NYT, based on dozens of interviews, as well as a review of public records and securities filings in Canada, Russia and the United States, claims that donations to Clinton Foundation made in 2006-2011 by U1’s chairman, company’s associates, advisers and other affiliates and totaled to more than $40 million, at least have special ethical issues, keeping in mind that the former president’s wife helped steer American foreign policy as secretary of state, presiding over decisions with the potential to benefit the foundation’s donors. (Read more from “Russia Took Control Over 20% of US Uranium After Uranium One’s Associates Made Lavish Contributions to Clinton Foundation” HERE)

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Fleet of Iranian Ships Heading to Yemen Turns Around After Being Tracked by US Warships [+video]

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download (9)A nine-ship Iranian convoy believed to be laden with weapons bound for rebels in Yemen turned around Thursday after being followed by U.S. warships stationed in the area to prevent arms shipments, multiple sources in the Pentagon told Fox News.

The sources said the nine-ship convoy is south of Salalah, Oman, and now headed northeast in the Arabian Sea in the direction of home. The ships, which include seven freighters and two frigates, had sailed southwest along the coast of Yemen heading in the direction of Aden and the entrance to the Red Sea. The two Iranian warships escorting the convoy are Thondor Type 021-class missile boats and the other ships in the convoy are a mix of commercial vessels with some carrying shipping containers.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier known as the “Big Stick” and her escort, the USS Normandy, a guided missile cruiser, have been shadowing the convoy for the past few days, the sources said.

Fighter jets taking off from the carrier have been relaying the convoy’s location to the U.S. Navy’s higher command since the start of the week.

Pentagon officials say the U.S. Navy set up the nine ships in a line parallel to the coast of Yemen stretching from the Bab-el-Mandeb Straight to waters south of Oman, which provide “continuous coverage” of the Iranian convoy. (Read more from “Fleet of Iranian Ships Heading to Yemen Turns Around After Being Tracked by US Warships” HERE)

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European Food Banks: Crushing Demand Across UK, Over One Million Seek Emergency Help [+video]

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download (8)The number of people using food banks has reached a record one million, despite signs that the economy is improving, new figures reveal.

The Trussell Trust, which runs 445 food banks across the UK, said 1,084,604 people received supplies in the last financial year – an increase of 19 per cent on the previous years – and that 400,000 of them were children.

Everyone who receives food from Trussell Trust food banks is referred by a professional, such as a social worker or school liaison officer.

Delays in receiving benefits were the main reason for referrals to food banks, but the Trussell Trust said there was an increase in referrals of workers on low income . . .

People in work who use food banks were reported to be struggling with insecure income, low wages and high living costs. (Read more from “Food Banks: Over One Million Seek Emergency Help” HERE)

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Scientific First: Chinese Genetically Modify Human Embryos

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Photo Credit: Nature

Photo Credit: Nature

In a world first, Chinese scientists have reported editing the genomes of human embryos. The results are published1 in the online journal Protein & Cell and confirm widespread rumours that such experiments had been conducted—rumours that sparked a high-profile debate last month2, 3 about the ethical implications of such work.

In the paper, researchers led by Junjiu Huang, a gene-function researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, tried to head off such concerns by using ‘non-viable’ embryos, which cannot result in a live birth, that were obtained from local fertility clinics. The team attempted to modify the gene responsible for β-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder, using a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. The researchers say that their results reveal serious obstacles to using the method in medical applications.

“I believe this is the first report of CRISPR/Cas9 applied to human pre-implantation embryos and as such the study is a landmark, as well as a cautionary tale,” says George Daley, a stem-cell biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “Their study should be a stern warning to any practitioner who thinks the technology is ready for testing to eradicate disease genes.”

Some say that gene editing in embryos could have a bright future because it could eradicate devastating genetic diseases before a baby is born. Others say that such work crosses an ethical line: researchers warned in Nature2 in March that because the genetic changes to embryos, known as germline modification, are heritable, they could have an unpredictable effect on future generations. Researchers have also expressed concerns that any gene-editing research on human embryos could be a slippery slope towards unsafe or unethical uses of the technique.

The paper by Huang’s team looks set to reignite the debate on human-embryo editing — and there are reports that other groups in China are also experimenting on human embryos. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Genetically Modify Human Embryos” HERE)

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Gone Girl: An Interview With an American in ISIS

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Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

In her first tweet from Syria, “Umm Jihad” uploaded a picture of four passports — American, Canadian, U.K., and Australian — being held by hands garbed in the black gloves worn by the most conservative Muslim women. “Bonfire soon, no need for these anymore, alhamdulliah [thanks be to God],” she captioned the image. Now that they were living under the Islamic State, no other nationality mattered.

Using her account @ZumarulJannah, which has now been suspended, Umm Jihad expressed contempt for the United States. “Soooo many Aussies and Brits here,” she tweeted. “But where are the Americans, wake up u cowards.” If other American ISIS supporters couldn’t make it to Syria, she said, “Terrorize the kuffar [derogatory term for non-Muslims] at home.”

“Americans wake up!” she tweeted on March 19. “Men and women altogether. You have much to do while you live under our greatest enemy, enough of your sleeping! Go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them. Veterans, Patriot, Memorial etc Day parades..go on drive by’s + spill all of their blood or rent a big truck n drive all over them. Kill them.”

BuzzFeed News has confirmed this anti-American ISIS member is a 20-year-old American citizen named Hoda who ran away from her home in Hoover, Alabama, in November to become an ISIS member, bride, and, now, widow.

After BuzzFeed News identified Hoda and found her family, she agreed to give a series of exclusive interviews from Raqqah, Syria, over the messaging app Kik, on the condition that no images of her uncovered face would be published. (Read more from “Gone Girl: An Interview With an American in ISIS” HERE)

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South Africa Sends Army to Calm ‘Volatile Areas’ of Anti-Immigrant Violence

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download (2)South Africa deployed the army on Tuesday in “volatile areas” to curb a wave of anti-immigrant violence that has killed at least seven people this month, the Defence Minister said.

The latest wave of anti-immigrant attacks began almost three weeks ago in parts of the coastal city of Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal and quickly spread to Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said soldiers were being sent to “volatile areas,” which included the rundown Johannesburg district of Alexandra and parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal . . .

South Africa has been criticized by foreign governments, including China, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, for failing to protect foreigners as TV stations broadcast images around the world of armed mobs looting immigrant-owned shops. (Read more from “South Africa Sends Army to Calm ‘Volatile Areas’ of Anti-Immigrant Violence” HERE)

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Iranian Prison Guards Threaten to Extend Sentence for U.S. Pastor, Wife Claims

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

By Fox News. The wife of an American pastor locked up in Iran said prison guards have repeatedly threatened to extend the sentence for her husband, who was detained in 2012 over his Christian faith.

Naghmeh Abedini said her husband, 34-year-old Saeed Abedini, lives in constant fear of having his eight-year sentence increased for allegedly preaching his religion inside the Islamic republic.

“The urgency of getting my husband home has never felt so real,” Naghmeh Abedini told FoxNews.com Monday. “His physical and psychological strength has been greatly weakened throughout his imprisonment. The lack of clean water and good nutrition have taken a toll on Saeed’s physical well-being.”

“Guards have repeatedly told him that the price of his freedom is denying Christ and returning to Islam – and yet, Saeed’s faith in Christ remains strong,” she said.

Abedini, a U.S. citizen and father of two from Idaho, has been held in Iran for two and a half years after being accused of proselytizing in the Islamic republic. The American Center for Law and Justice and Abedini’s family have pleaded with the U.S. and UN officials to secure his release — including a meeting between Naghmeh Abedini and President Obama earlier this year in Idaho that renewed hope for the family. (Read more from “Iranian Prison Guards Threaten to Extend Sentence for U.S. Pastor, Wife Claims” HERE)

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As U.S. Sits Down with Iran, Pastor Saeed Must Be Released

By Jordan Sekulow. American Pastor Saeed Abedini is facing renewed torment and hostility suffering in Iran for his Christian faith. He hears fellow prisoners being executed as he tries to sleep. Iranian authorities refuse to allow him the vital medical treatment he desperately needs. The prison guards threaten and torment him.

There is already a framework for a nuclear agreement and U.S. and Iranian negotiators are about to sit down again to begin finalizing the details, but Pastor Saeed is still not home and the situation is getting worse. Fox News has an updated report on Pastor Saeed’s horrifying condition.

With the United States sitting down with the Iranian delegation again this week, it is essential that our government not forget Pastor Saeed – a U.S. citizen whose been imprisoned in Iran for more than two-and-a-half years. President Obama communicated to Pastor Saeed’s wife and children that bringing Pastor Saeed home was a “top priority.” We urge the Obama Administration to put those words into action. Regardless of the outcome on the nuclear deal, the U.S. government should not leave the table until it has secured the freedom of Pastor Saeed. Let us leave no man behind. (Read more from this story HERE)

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US Warship Heads to Yemen Waters to Thwart Iran From Sending Weapons

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

Photo Credit: Breitbart

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

Navy officials said Monday that the Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea. The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid reports that a convoy of about eight Iranian ships is heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. Navy officials said there are about nine U.S. warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels . . .

The Houthis are battling government-backed fighters in an effort to take control of the country. The U.S. has been providing logistical and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia-led coalition launching airstrikes against the Houthis. That air campaign is now in its fourth week.

The U.S. Navy generally conducts consensual boardings of ships when needed, including to combat piracy around Africa and the region. So far, however, U.S. naval personnel have not boarded any Iranian vessels since the Yemen conflict began. (Read more from “US Warship Heads to Yemen Waters to Thwart Iran From Sending Weapons” HERE)

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BREAKING: ISIS Releases Brutal Video Showing the Beheading of Dozens of Christians

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isis_christians-640x336By Reagan Wilson. The Islamic State (aka ISIS/ISIL) has released a new video on social media showing the alleged beheadings and shooting deaths of dozens of Christians from Ethiopia. The video was allegedly shot in Libya.

The video is one of the most brutal the group has released in recent months.

ISIS has been slowly expanding from their original reach of Syria and Iraq. This video represents a growing ISIS presence in the nation of Libya.

Last month, the radical Islamic group Boko Haram formally joined ISIS which expanded the group’s reach in Nigeria. (Read more from “BREAKING: ISIS Releases Brutal Video Showing the Beheading of Dozens of Christians” HERE)
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Newest Video of Christian Slaughter Shows ISIS is Expanding, Contrary to Obama’s Claims

By Elliott McLaughlin. ISIS operatives have beheaded two groups of prisoners, believed to be Ethiopian Christians, in Libya, according to a video released Sunday by the terror network’s media arm.

The al-Furqan Media video — which is highly produced and titled “Until There Came to Them Clear Evidence” — shows two groups of men in orange and black jumpsuits being killed at different locations in Libya, according to the video’s narrator.

“All praise be to Allah, the Lord and cherisher of the world and may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Mohammed. To the nation of the cross, we are back again on the sands, where the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, have stepped on before, telling you: Muslim blood that was shed under the hands of your religion is not cheap,” the narrator says in Arabic on the 30-minute video.

The narrator continues, “In fact, their blood is the purest blood because there is a nation behind them (which) inherits revenge. And we swear to Allah: the one who disgraced you by our hands, you will not have safety, even in your dreams, until you embrace Islam.”

Quoting Mohammed, the narrator says that those who “perform prayer and pay alms” will have “their blood and property” protected by the Prophet unless Islam dictates otherwise. (Read more from this story HERE)

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