Leid Stories – 08.24.15

St. Louis Police Killing of Mansur Ball-Bey: We Reveals New Details

Party Pooper?: Biden’s Possible Run Confirms Hillary Clinton’s Vulnerability

Mansur Ball-Bey, 18, was shot dead by police Aug. 19 during a house raid. Two police officers involved in the shooting say he aimed at them with a gun and they fired in self-defense. Witnesses, however, have said the Ball-Bay was not armed. The killing has reignited tensions locally and nationally about police use of force.

The deck’s getting stacked against Hillary Clinton. A campaign scrambling to hold itself together in the face of self-inflicted political wounds, the upsurge in Bernie Sanders’ popularity, a growing unease about her among highly placed fellow Democrats, and the wait-and-see attitudes of major endorsers is now rattled by the possibility that Vice President Joe Biden will run.

Leid Stories says that whether he runs or not, the mere discussion of a Biden candidacy confirms the Democratic Party’s recognition that Clinton is carrying way more baggage than it can carry.

Leid Stories – 07.29.15

The 2016 Duopoly Doo-Wop: Are They Singing Your Tune? (Part 2) We pick up from where we left off with yesterday’s discussion on  the 2016 presidential race and listeners’ reactions not only to how it’s shaping up, but how it’s shaping their political attitudes and decisions. A crowded field of declared candidates—16 from the Republican Party and five Democrats so …

Wolf Richter – Housing Bubble Means American Dream Withers at Record Pace

The current housing boom has Dallas solidly in its grip. As in many cities around the US, prices are soaring, buyers are going nuts, sellers run the show, realtors are laughing all the way to the bank, and the media are having a field day. Nationwide, the median price of existing homes, at $236,400, as the National Association of Realtors …

A Sharp Spike in Honeybee Deaths Deepens a Worrisome Trend – MICHAEL WINES

A prolonged and mysterious die-off of the nation’shoneybees, a trend worrisome both to beekeepers and to farmers who depend on the insects to pollinate their crops, apparently worsened last year. In an annual survey released on Wednesday by the Bee Informed Partnership, a consortium of universities and research laboratories, about 5,000 beekeepers reported losing 42.1 percent of their colonies in the …

The Green Energy Revolt – Jason Mark

Debbie Dooley is mad as hell. Since 2012, the fifty-six-year-old grandmother and former IT consultant has been waging a fierce grassroots battle against her home state utility, Georgia Power, to make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels. Now, she’s working with allies in Florida to sponsor a ballot initiative that would allow businesses and homeowners …

Bringing the Crisis to a Head in Baltimore – Glen Ford

“The only thing that can work to fundamentally change the system for Black people – whether in the 21st century or the Sixties – is mass organization for popular empowerment.” It’s been nine months since the Black youth of Ferguson, Missouri, set history in motion with their demand for justice for Michael Brown, yet the “movement” has maintained its momentum while …

It’s Official: Police Were Ordered To Stand Down And Let The Baltimore Riots Rage Out Of Control – Michael Snyder

We now have official confirmation that the rioting in Baltimore on Monday was purposely allowed to spiral out of control.  Up until now, there had been some unconfirmed reports that police in Baltimore had been ordered to “stand down” during the riots, but nobody had been willing to come forward and go on the record.  Now that has all changed.  …

Fraud, Waste, and Lies: Charter Schools Cheating Communities Out of Millions of Dollars – Sarah Lazare

Accepting and soliciting bribes. Diverting public funds for personal profit. Lying about the number of students. These are just a few examples of the fraud and malfeasance committed by charter school officials—cheating communities out of millions dollars that were supposed to go to education, a new report finds. The Tip of the Iceberg: Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, and …

You Will Be Surprised Who the Outside Agitators Really Are in Baltimore – Max Blumenthal

On Monday, the country watched as a band of outside agitators descended on the streets of Baltimore, attacked locals with blunt force, intimidated innocent bystanders, and even threw rocks [3] at native residents. Every day, these gun-toting rogues come from as far as New Jersey and Pennsylvania to intimidate the good people of Baltimore, forcing communities to cower under the threat of violence. …

30-year-old Russian man volunteers for world’s first human head transplant

In February, Medical News Today reported that an Italian surgeon is to announce updated plans to conduct the world’s first human head transplant within the next 2 years. Now, a 30-year-old Russian man is set to become the first person to undergo the procedure.Dr. Sergio Canavero, of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group (TANG) in Italy, first spoke of his plans to carry out the …