USA

Dogs really do love us: Study finds first evidence of inter-species hormone exchange
Dog lovers everywhere, rejoice! They really do love us on a chemical level. Dogs were found to make use of the “lovers’ hormone,” Oxytocin, to sneak their way into our hearts. That’s the first time the mechanism was observed between species. We know it as the love hormone: it spikes when we hug, kiss and make love. It also exists between a mother and infant, as they gaze into each other [...]
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US military instructors deployed to Ukraine to train local forces
Paratroopers of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vincenza, Italy, have arrived in western Ukraine to provide training for Ukrainian government troops. The announcement came on US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt's twitter account. The diplomat posted pictures of the US paratroopers marching through the airport in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov. [...]
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Putin not the devil, says CNN co-founder
Vladimir Putin is defending Russian interests, and is not the devil the US media make him out to be, the CNN's founding CEO wrote. Arguing using historical facts and personal experience, Reese Schonfeld expressed a belief that Russia is not the enemy. The Russian president “may not be a nice man, but he certainly is not the devil that we are making him,” Reese Schonfeld wrote in his Huffing [...]
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EU set to file antitrust lawsuit against Google for unfair practices
Google is facing formal antitrust charges in the EU after years of investigation and three attempted settlements. The announcement will be made at the European Commission meeting on Wednesday, EU officials told the media. If the Commission finds Google guilty, it can order the company to change its business practices and impose fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s global proceeds – mo [...]
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Majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana – polls
Results from two new polls found the majority of Americans support making cannabis legal, with the large majority of young adults crossing party lines and states to support the idea. Nationally, 53 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. [...]
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End of the “special relationship?” Secret US memo reportedly says UK losing influence with Washington
A secret memo prepared by a Congressional think tank and seen by the Daily Mail says that the US may need a "reassessment of the special relationship" with its key economic partner, Britain, "because its geopolitical setting has been changing." Winston Churchill's 1946 speech to Westminster College, in Fulton, coined the phrase "special relationship" to describe the exceptionally friendly polit [...]
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Vladimir Putin steals the show in TIME 100 reader’s poll
In a diverse field of competitors made up of pop stars, technology gurus, visionaries and politicians - and at a time when US-Russia relations have hit rock bottom - President Putin has emerged victorious in Time magazine - 2015 reader poll. Among the 100 most influential people in the world, as hand selected by the editors of TIME, the Russian leader proved his rock-star credentials by edging [...]
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Too little too late? NSA starting to implement “Snowden-proof” cloud storage
The NSA is implementing a huge migration to custom-designed cloud architecture it says will revolutionize internal security and protect against further leaks by data analysts with unfettered access to classified information. Put simply, the NSA hopes to keep future Edward Snowdens out by employing a cloud file storage system it built from scratch. [...]
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Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and King Hamlet might be dead – but Putin’s the ghost in everybody’s room
For the paranoia industry, the spectre of Vladimir Putin is the gift that keeps on giving. Theres rarely a situation these days in which many media elements won't invoke the Russian president's name. Shakespeare wasn’t exactly a horror writer, but the bard was rather fond of using ghosts as plot devices. Arguably the most famous is ‘King Hamlet,’ the eponymous hero’s late father. [...]
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Ex-Blackwater guards face life, long sentences for Baghdad massacre
Four men who worked for the private military contracting firm formerly known as Blackwater are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Monday, more than seven years after they massacred Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. A sentencing hearing for the four men – Nicholas Slatten, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough – was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET in Washington, DC [...]
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US, UK thank Russia for evacuation of their citizens from Yemen
The British Foreign Office, as well as the US Secretary of State, have thanked Moscow for the evacuation of their citizens from war-torn Yemen, as Russian planes and ships take hundreds of Russian and foreign nationals from the conflict zone. In a phone conversation with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed gratitude for assistance in evacuati [...]
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“Nobody will help us evacuate:” Americans urge Washington to help flee Yemen war
As the Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen continue and the fighting on the ground intensifies, US citizens stuck in Yemen have lashed out at Washington for ignoring their pleas for help as they try to leave the war-torn country. Aerial bombardment and street battles have become a daily reality for people in Yemen. “We hear a few bombings a day. It’s very scary right now,” Arwa Al-Iraine, a US [...]
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Americans don’t want Congress to sabotage Iran deal – new poll
Although some lawmakers, including Democrats, believe Congress should have a say in any potential removal of Iranian sanctions, most Americans say Congress should not keep a possible a nuclear deal from being implemented. Roughly 61 percent of Americans support the framework agreement struck between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) earlier this month, according [...]
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French military intelligence rules out “Russian invasion plans” for Ukraine
France's intelligence chief has questioned NATO's claims of Russia preparing to attack Ukraine as their agents failed to spot any activities signaling this - either before or after the crisis began. A statement by the chief of France’s military intelligence, General Christophe Gomart, was published on the National Assembly’s website. [...]
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Fracking link suspected in presence of cancer-causing gas – report
The presence of a radioactive, cancer-causing element has increased in parts of Pennsylvania where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been on the rise in recent years, according to a new study. Researchers with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said this week they’ve discovered a correlation between radon levels and fracking across the Keystone State. [...]
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Dashcam footage from SC shooting shows Walter Scott running away from officer
South Carolina state police have released dascham footage from officer Michael Slager’s car captured moments before he shot an unarmed black man named Walter Scott. The video shows Scott running away after being pulled over. Made public Thursday by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the footage does not reveal any details about the moment unarmed man Walter Scott was ki [...]
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California moves to protect citizens’ right to record, photo police
California lawmakers took a step forward in protecting citizens who record or photograph the actions of police - but do not obstruct their duties - from reprisals by law enforcement, passing legislation out of committee. [...]
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Politics, “hypocrisy” cost US global economic leadership: ex-Treasury chief
The US may no longer be in control of the global economy, warned former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, urging Washington to regain dominance by honoring commitments and stopping its own hypocrisy. China’s establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Washington’s failure to stop its traditional allies from joining, was a development without precedent since the [...]
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5 ways Vladimir Putin is driving America crazy
Although Russian President Putin has worked to form a strong and lasting partnership with Washington - in fields as diverse as fighting terrorism and exploring outer space - the spirit of goodwill and bilateral relations has not been reciprocated. [...]
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