Mulling 2016 run, Biden speaks with top labor leader - CNNPolitics.com

Mulling 2016 run, Biden speaks with top labor leader - CNNPolitics.com:

Washington (CNN)Harold A. Schaitberger, the president of the powerful International Association of Fire Fighters, spoke Friday morning with Vice President Joe Biden, who strongly indicated in the phone conversation that he is planning to run for president, a source familiar with the discussion said.

The IAFF is one of the most influential labor groups in the U.S. Biden is especially close to labor, which could be a key constituency for him if he seeks the White House.

Schaitberger declined to comment on the call, saying he does not discuss private conversations. But the source said Biden talked about campaign strategy with Schaitberger and indicated a final decision on whether he would run for president is imminent.

14 photos: Photos: Vice President Joe Biden

Opinion: Joe Biden's big decision

The source described the call as one of many the vice president is making to potential backers of a Biden candidacy.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported the IAFF informed Hillary Clinton's campaign that it had abandoned its plans to endorse the former secretary of state. And in a profile on Friday, the Times reportedSchaitberger's "close, longstanding relationship" to Biden, saying he personally lobbied the vice president in 2009 to expand a law that helped avert firefighter layoffs during the Great Recession.

Israel says more knife attacks thwarted, four Palestinians dead - Yahoo News Canada

Israel says more knife attacks thwarted, four Palestinians dead - Yahoo News Canada:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli authorities said four Palestinians had been shot dead and a fifth seriously injured in thwarted knife attacks on Saturday in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of unrest.

Forty-one Palestinians and seven Israelis have died in the recent street violence, which was in part triggered by Palestinians' anger over what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Israel says it is keeping the status quo at the holy compound, which is also revered by Jews as the location of two destroyed biblical Jewish temples.

Internet porn viewers 'should expect viewing histories to be made public' | News | Lifestyle | The Independent

Internet porn viewers 'should expect viewing histories to be made public' | News | Lifestyle | The Independent:

If you've watched porn online this year then you should be prepared for your browsing history and name to be made public for the world to see, a US blogger has warned.

Brett Thomas, a San Francisco-based software engineer, has written in a post on his blog that if you've watched porn online in 2015, "even in Incognito mode", then brace yourself because "you should expect that at some point your porn viewing history will be publicly released and attached to your name".

Thomas says that if hackers were able to get hold of a list of logs that can give them an idea of a users' name, plus logs for sensitive websites like porn, then the two could be cross-referenced to put a name to a viewing history.

Those two hacks would have to be large-scale and are unlikely — and both must take place at the same time — but Scott warns that technologists should work harder to prevent such leaks from happening. "All that's needed are two nominal data breaches and an enterprising teenager that wants to create havoc," Scott writes.

In 2014 hackers claimed to have leaked the password details of more than 13,000 Xbox and Playstation users, as well as users of online stores, and there have been regular instances of hackers posting internet users' bank details online.

Carly Fiorina blasts Clinton on Benghazi, playing the "gender card" - CBS News

Carly Fiorina blasts Clinton on Benghazi, playing the "gender card" - CBS News: 



Ahead of Hillary Clinton's closed-door testimony with the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Thursday, Carly Fiorina is stepping up her criticism of the former secretary of state, saying that Clinton needs to be held responsible for the 2012 terrorist attacks.

"What has Mrs. Clinton ever been held accountable for?" Fiorina said at a campaign event in Iowa Saturday morning. "I wish for once Mrs. Clinton would be prepared to stand and be held accountable for the murder of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya."

However, Fiorina said that because the interview sessions are conducted behind closed doors, the public may not get much out of the hearings.

Talking to reporters Friday, Fiorina said that she thought Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, who chairs the Benghazi panel, was doing a good job with the investigation.

The committee recently came under fire for partaking in partisan politics after comments from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested that the Benghazi investigation should be credited with Clinton's dipping favorability ratings.

White House projects marginal ACA enrollment growth in 2016 - The Washington Post

White House projects marginal ACA enrollment growth in 2016

The Obama administration is predicting a meager increase next year in the number of Americans with private insurance through the Affordable Care Act — a forecast, far below previous government estimates, that signals the obstacles to attracting people who remain uninsured.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced Thursday that an expected 10 million Americans will be covered by late 2016 by health plans they bought on the federal and state insurance exchanges created under the law.

That figure is just half the most recent forecast by congressional budget analysts, who have long expected 2016 to usher in the biggest surge in enrollment. The number represents a marginal increase from the 9.1 million Americans the administration believes will have ACA health plans by the end of this year.

60 cats, 2 dogs removed from Wolcott home | WTNH Connecticut News

60 cats, 2 dogs removed from Wolcott home | WTNH Connecticut News:

In the latest issue of Marvel’s revamped Captain America, the iconic superhero takes on a group of right-wing conservatives trying to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border.

In “Captain America: Sam Wilson #1,” the superhero also known as Sam Wilson heads to the border to take on an “evil” militia group known as the Sons of the Serpent, who are patrolling the area between Mexico and Arizona, according to a video summary of the issue created by the Maciver Institute.

WOLCOTT, Conn. (WTNH) – A truck packed to the brim with cats in crates marked the spot Friday evening, where police served a warrant as part of an investigation into an apparent case of animal hording on Frinch Road. 60 cats and two dogs were seized in all. There were so many animals, animal control units from as far away as Meriden and Southbury also responded to assist.

“The inside of the home is pretty deplorable,” said Sgt. Patrick Malloy with the Wolcott Police Department. “I would say it’s unlivable at this time.”

Malloy tells News 8 they received complaints going back to September from concerned neighbors in the area about an odor coming from the residence and bags of garbage that littered property containing cat feces. Police say the owner was trying to run a cat rescue.

Obamacare: Proof That Democrats Will Tax the Middle Class | TheBlaze.com

Obamacare: Proof That Democrats Will Tax the Middle Class | TheBlaze.com:

"At the first Democratic presidential debate, candidates promised to expand government benefits — from tuition-free college to paid maternity leave programs.

How to pay for these new benefits? Simple, they say, just tax the wealthy.

That idea may be a winner with the Democrats’ base, but the problem is that the math simply doesn’t work. There simply aren’t enough rich people to tax. If America is going to expand entitlements to European levels, government will have to greatly increase taxes on middle-class Americans, as well. In fact, we already have proof that entitlement expansions mean taxing the middle class — we need look no further than Obamacare."

The Lowline: Team Creates First Underground Park In Manhattan « CBS New York

The Lowline: Team Creates First Underground Park In Manhattan « CBS New York:

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — With new buildings rising into theclouds in Manhattan, how about a recreational space below?

As CBS2’s Sonia Rincon reported, the city’s first underground park is in the works on the Lower East Side. On Saturday, the Lowline Lab will open to explain how the future park will bring sunlight underground.

The High Line made a park out of old train tracks above the street in Chelsea in the Meatpacking District. The Lowline will turn abandoned underground train tracks into a park below Delancey Street.

The space was once a massive trolley terminal at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge — built in 1908. It is about the size of a football field.

“For many decades, it’s been entirely unused, and all of the old architectural details are still there — the cobblestones and rail lines are all still around,” said Lowline co-founder Dan Barasch. “And what we’re hoping to do is to fuse that amazing history right below our street that’s hidden in plain sight with this futuristic vision of an underground park.”

The ambitious plan would bring life to the old structures with hundreds of plants — and deliver the sunlight they need.

ISIS graffiti artists declare first European caliphate in Sweden | Latest News | Breaking UK News & World News Headlines | Daily Star

ISIS graffiti artists declare first European caliphate in Sweden | Latest News | Breaking UK News & World News Headlines | Daily Star:


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The terror group's logo was daubed on the wall of a restaurant in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Chilling messages such as "convert or die" and "the caliphate is here" were also found covering the outside of Markus Samuelsson's bakery.

"I felt a sudden chill down my spine. It’s terribly painful, we feel threatened," Samuelsson said.

The Arabic letter for "N" – which has been used to identify Christians and drive them out of their homes by ISIS fighters – was also painted on the restaurant.

Gothenburg is a hotbed for jihadist recruiting, terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp described it as "the Swedish Centre for Jihadists".

Cops have launched a probe into the incident and will no doubt be on high alert in fear of a potential attack.