Navy Nuclear Submarine & Missile Cruiser Collide off Florida Coast During Training Exercise

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A U.S. Navy nuclear submarine collided with a cruiser Saturday afternoon during a routine training exercise off the coast of northeastern Florida, according to officials.

No service members either aboard USS Montpelier or USS San Jacinto were injured in the crash, Pentagon officials said, adding that the sub’s nuclear reaction ‘was unaffected by this collision.’

The incident took place while Montpelier, a nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, and San Jacinto, an Aegis-class missile cruiser, were participating in a ‘group sail’ along with another vessel.

ABC reported that the vessels were preparing for an upcoming deployment as part of the strike group for the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, which was also on hand.

According to a Navy official, at around 3.30pm, the bridge watch aboard the San Jacinto saw the sub rise to periscope depth less than 200 yards ahead of them.

The bridge ordered ‘all back,’ but it was too late and the vessel slammed into the Montpelier.

Read more from this story HERE.

Coal Miners Slam Obama’s War on Coal, Lies in His Campaign Ad (+video)

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By Neil W. McCabe. More than 500 Ohio coal miners rallied Oct. 10 against President Barack Obama’s ‘War on Coal” and the president’s charge they were coerced to support Republican W. Mitt Romney at an Aug. 14 rally.

“I have a couple of letters that I would like to address today, regarding Mr. Obama’s stand on coal, as well as the current media and how they have represented us the coal miners, here at Century Mine and the coal industry in general,” said Mitch Miracle, a coal miner at the Beallsville, Ohio Century Mine, operated by Murray Energy, a Pepper Pike, Ohio-based, privately-owned coal mining company.

“Standing behind me are proud Americans, proud coal miners proud citizens of this great country, proud members of the Ohio Valley, where we live in and I am damn proud of them,” he said.

“Proud Ohio Valley workers, as you all know the economy has been tough for all of us, this is a great profession, these are great workers and we are proud to be a part of it, part of Murray Energy and we support our owner 100 percent,” he said. “We ask that the media, lets embrace coal, embrace what it does for all of us.”

The first letter asked the president to stop running ads that claim miners were forced to attend the Romney rally and the second letter was addressed to David Bloomquist, a radio talk show host for Wheeling, W.V.’s WWVA, he said. Bloomquist claimed to various media outlets that miners told him they were pressured to attend the Aug. 14 Romney rally. Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s a video of the press conference with Century Mine employees:

NY Times: Voter Registration Databases Can Easily Be Hacked

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Computer security experts have identified vulnerabilities in the voter registration databases in two states, raising concerns about the ability of hackers and others to disenfranchise voters.

In the last five years, Maryland and Washington State have set up voter registration systems that make it easy for people to register to vote and update their address information online. The problem is that in both states, all the information required from voters to log in to the system is publicly available.

It took The New York Times less than three minutes to track down the information online needed to update the registrations of several prominent executives in Washington State. Complete voter lists, which include a name, birth date, addresses and party affiliation, can be easily bought — and are, right now, in the hands of thousands of campaign volunteers.

Computer security experts and voting rights activists argue that a hacker could use that information to, say, change a person’s address online to ensure that the voter never receives a ballot in Washington, where voting is now done entirely by mail. In Maryland, hackers could ensure that a voter is not listed on the precinct register at a designated polling station. In that case, the voter would be redirected to another precinct, or asked to fill out a provisional ballot. In both cases, the person would not be able to vote in local, or possibly, Congressional races.

But the real concern, critics say, is that large numbers of voters from one political party, or demographic, could have their information changed by automated computer programs. A program that could change tens of thousands of voter records at once, they say, would require only a dozen lines of code.

Read more from this article HERE.

Student Wearing Romney T-Shirt Ridiculed for Wearing “KKK Garb” in a “Democratic School”

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Samantha Pawlucy, a 16-year-old student at Charles Carroll High School in Philadelphia, was ridiculed in front of her geometry class by teacher Lynette Gaymon for wearing a t-shirt expressing support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Pawlucy told a radio station that Gaymon likened the shirt to KKK garb and insisted that “this is a Democratic school.” Due in part to widespread outrage from conservatives—including Romney, who called Pawlucy on Wednesday to thank her for courage—Gaymon was switched to a different class.

[School District Communications Chief Fernando] Gallard affirmed the student’s right to wear the shirt, and said the district was supporting her “absolutely, from day one.”

“We provided support, we told [the Pawlucy family] that we were going to investigate, we removed the teacher from the classroom where the student was attending, and we have been in constant contact to provide for [Pawlucy’s] support,” he said.

District Superintendent Dr. William Hite released a statement of support for both the student and the teacher.

Read more from this story HERE.

Clintons May Torpedo Obama Presidency over Benghazi Blame

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By Alex Pappas. With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new high, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck, according to author Ed Klein.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Klein said sources close to the Clintons tell him that Bill Clinton has assembled an informal legal team to discuss how the Secretary of State should deal with the issue of being blamed for not preventing the Benghazi terrorist attack last month.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters during a press conference Friday that responsibility for the consulate in Libya fell on the State Department, not the White House.

If blame for the security failures falls to Hillary Clinton, Klein said, it’s possible that she would even consider resigning over the issue.

“Bill is working on a number of strategies about what Hillary ought to do. He’s even gone so far as to play with various doomsday scenarios including up to the idea that Hillary would consider resigning over the issue if the Obama team tries to use her as a scapegoat,” Klein told TheDC in an interview. Read more from this story HERE.

Klein: Clinton-Obama rift intensifies after Libya, Obama’s debate performance

By Edward Klein. [S]ince the convention, Clinton and Obama have had a serious falling-out over two issues: the president’s preparation and lamentable performance in his debate with Mitt Romney, and the question of who should be assigned blame — Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — for the intelligence and security screw-up in Benghazi, Libya.

This new rift, which the Clintons and Obamas have managed to keep secret from the media, has poisoned their relations to such an extent that it could conceivably have an impact on the outcome of the presidential election.

The latest quarrel began when Clinton heard that Obama was behaving so cocky about his first debate against Mitt Romney that he wasn’t taking his debate prep seriously. Out of concern, Clinton had an aide call the White House and say that the former president would be more than happy to give the current president some pointers and advice on how to get the best of Romney.

Clinton waited several days for a response, but none was forthcoming. According to my sources, the former president was dumbfounded that Obama had ignored his offer, and his hurt feelings quickly boiled over into anger.

“Bill thought that he and Obama were on friendly terms after the convention,” one source told me. “He couldn’t believe that the White House didn’t even extend him the courtesy of a return phone call. He concluded that Obama’s arrogance knows no bounds.” Read more from this story HERE.

Fed’s $6 Million “Text to Tip on Terror” Produces Zero Tips

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Photo credit: from_koThe U.S. government has blown nearly $6 million on an experimental “anti-terrorism” program in New Jersey that encourages the public to send tips via text message from their cellular phones.

Since it was launched in mid-2011, the federally-funded “Text Against Terror” project has produced no credible tips, according to a local newspaper report that reveals the feds have poured $5.8 million into the initiative. Police in New Jersey claim 307 tips have been texted so far and that includes people “testing the system.”

Of the 307 text messages, 71 “referred to something regarding homeland security,” according to the New Jersey police chief quoted in the story. The majority of the 71 texts were investigated, the chief says, and “eliminated as a cause for concern.” In other words, the costly program, funded with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public awareness grant, is a cash cow that’s accomplished nothing.

The taxpayer dollars have paid for advertising time on local radio and television as well as fliers and ads on buses and trains. Other expenses include reserving a domain for unlimited texting capability. In a “rare instance” when a tip has required a follow-up, the New Jersey police chief says a state Joint Terrorism Task Force is available to get the job done. It includes state police, New Jersey’s transit and port authority police and the FBI.

News of this disturbing waste of public funds for an ineffective homeland security program comes on the heels of a U.S. Senate report blasting a huge post-9/11 counterterrorism program that’s received north of $300 million but hasn’t provided any useful intelligence. Even scarier is that DHS has covered up the mess from both Congress and the public, according to the bi-partisan investigators who conducted the lengthy probe.

Read more from this story HERE.

Businesses Sue New York City Over Big Soda Ban

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A coalition of trade groups and businesses sued New York City on Friday, challenging Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s new regulation banning the sale of large-sized sugary soft drinks in restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses.

The lawsuit, filed in New York state supreme court in Manhattan by the American Beverage Association and a number of other plaintiffs, claims the mayoral-appointed board of health overstepped its authority when it unanimously passed the law last month. The power to approve such legislation lies solely with the city council, the lawsuit contends.

The ban, the first of its kind in the United States, outlaws sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces nearly everywhere they are sold, except in grocery and convenience stores. It is the latest step in Bloomberg’s longstanding quest to combat obesity and its deleterious health effects, following other controversial measures such as requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus.

Read more from this story HERE.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Under Criminal Investigation by FBI

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Federal prosecutors and FBI agents in Washington have launched a new criminal investigation of Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. involving alleged financial improprieties, including possible misuse of funds monitored by Congress, law enforcement sources tell NBC News.

The probe prompted lawyers for Jackson — who has been on a leave of absence from Congress since June for medical treatment — to meet with federal prosecutors this week in an attempt to persuade them not to bring charges against the congressman, sources said.

The sources said it was unclear whether Jackson, who has not been seen in his office for months, would be charged before the November election — a subject that was discussed between Jackson’s lawyers and the prosecutors this week. Jackson’s lawyers urged the prosecutors not to file charges before the election — but prosecutors refused to make any commitments, the sources familiar with the meeting said.

Either way, the new investigation could ratchet up pressure for Jackson to step aside. Despite his illness — which his office has said involves his treatment for bipolar disorder — Jackson is running for re-election, seeking a 10th term. His lawyers did not return email and phone call request for comment.

Frank Watkins, Jackson’s congressional spokesman, says he has not reached out Jackson and has not spoken to him about the investigation, and that the first he heard of the investigation was when he was contacted by the Chicago Sun Times, which first reported the story. He said he believes Jackson is still in DC.

Read more from this story HERE.

Ron Paul Refuses to Endorse Romney

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Texas Republican congressman Ron Paul pointedly refused to endorse his party’s presidential contender, Mitt Romney, arguing that neither he nor President Barack Obama would make necessary cuts to public spending that would avert a fiscal catastrophe.

“No,” the iconoclastic Libertarian bluntly told CNBC’s “Futures Now,” when asked about whether he was prepared to endorse Romney. He accused both the former Massachusetts governor and the president of being captive to similar interests.

“Both within the establishment where they need the Federal Reserve as lender of last resort to make sure that you take all the risk in the world,” Paul said. He linked the Fed — his favorite foil — and the Washington political establishment together as part of a “one party system” that refuses to make necessary but difficult choices to cut spending. (Read more: Ron Paul Vows to Continue Campaign Against Status Quo.)

“I’ve been in this business a long time and believe me there is essentially no difference from one administration to another no matter what the platforms,” said Paul, a former hopeful for the GOP nomination. “The foreign policy stays the same, the monetary policy stays the same, there’s no proposal for any real cuts and both parties support it.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Media Scratching Its Collective Head Over Joe Biden’s Smile (+video)

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By Mackenzie Weinger. While members of the media disagreed over who won the vice presidential debate — or whether it was a draw — there was one subject they couldn’t stop talking about: Vice President Joe Biden’s constant amusement.

Fox News’s Brit Hume predicted that voters will pick a debate winner based on whether they liked Biden’s smirking and laughing or thought it was disrespectful to GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s remarks.

“What you saw while Paul Ryan was talking, was smirking, laughing, smiling, mugging by the vice president,” Hume said. “And my sense about it was that it was so compelling that people probably couldn’t take their eyes off of it. And so it’ll come down to whether people thought that was attractive or not. Myself, I didn’t. I thought it was unattractive, I thought it was rude and I have a feeling it will come across to an awful lot of people as rude. It looked like a cranky old man to some extent, debating a polite young man.”

NBC News’s David Gregory said supporters of Biden might be pleased with the performance, but it may have alienated other viewers.

“The smile, the laugh, I think a lot of people may view that and think that he was a little too hot, too aggressive, maybe condescending,” the “Meet the Press” host said. “I think supporters of the president and Joe Biden will say, hey this was refreshing. He was feisty, he was aggressive, he was seeking in some ways to belittle Ryan as a challenger here in the arena and that was something we didn’t see out of the president.” Read more from this story HERE.