Llowell Williams

On Saturday, Egypt was plagued by violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces, killing dozens and injuring many more. At least 29 died in the violence on Saturday, on what was the third anniversary of Hosni Mubarak’s removal from power in Egypt, the January 25 revolution. Those in Egypt who cheered the fall of […]

Ukraine protesters agreed to a mutual truce Thursday after clashing with police since Sunday. Both sides expect the peace to last only a few hours. Despite this, government opposition leaders are meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for a second attempt at coming to a peaceful solution. Three anti-government group figures are meeting with the […]

Former Halliburton manager Anthony Badalamenti faces sentencing Tuesday for his role in destroying evidence related to the 2010 Gulf oil spill. In October the former Halliburton director plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge. US District Judge Jay Zainey announced Badalamenti’s fate today. The former Halliburton director will be under probation for one year. He will […]

Net neutrality rules set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2010 have had key sections struck down in a new federal court ruling. A D.C. circuit court ruled on a case brought against the FCC by Verizon. The mobile phone carrier sought to challenge the FCC’s net neutrality rules, which includes prohibition against broadband […]

A pimp is suing Nike for $100 million. The man’s complaint? The popular shoe company failed to print a warning with its Jordan shoes that explained that they could be used as deadly weapons. How exactly did the pimp find this out? The man was recently found guilty of brutally beating a man to death […]

A four-year-old Afghan boy was gunned down by US Marines on Wednesday. Local police officials say that bad weather and poor visibility most likely led to the unfortunate accident. Despite the unintentional nature of the death, the incident only puts further strain on strained relations between Kabul and D.C. According to a public statement made […]

Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s memoirs, appears to be doing well on e-book charts in recent times. Oddly, the fascist tell-all continues to successfully compete against both classics and recent releases. Sure, Mein Kampf doesn’t often manage to reach the number one spot, but its staying power is remarkable. Two digital versions of Hitler’s book are, […]

Gabby Giffords plans to go skydiving to mark the third anniversary of being injured by a gunman. The former Arizona Democratic House Representative says the jump will serve to mark how far she’s come since being shot. In 2011, a mass shooting claimed the lives of six and injured 12 along with Gabby Giffords in […]

Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer recently said in an interview that extraterrestrials have visited Earth. In fact, according to Hellyer, at least four different species have made trips to our blue planet. Hellyer says that these aliens have made regular stops on Earth for thousands of years and he has proof. The 90-year-old former […]

Hong Kong saw a number of protesters taking to the streets this week to demand the Chinese government allow democratic elections. The government in Beijing had promised the former British colony to hold elections for city leadership in 2017. Many citizens, however, share concerns over China’s likely desire to control any election in Hong Kong. […]

A Saudi Arabian man is facing punishment in the form of 80 lashes from a whip. He’ll also get three months of jail and a hefty fine. The man’s crime? According to a Saudi Arabian court, the man, Naif Abdullah, defamed Kuwaiti singer Shams with a Twitter post. The official verdict finds the man guilty […]

New York City officials have proudly announced that 2013 saw a dramatic decline in homicides. As of Monday, the city had 333 murders in 2013 — a 20.1 percent decrease from 2012. Last year’s 417 homicides in New York City were already part of a trend of fewer murders. Other hopeful statistics show that there […]

Student loan debt continues to burden education-seekers and degree-holders in the US. Not only that, but those debts have only grown in recent years. An average student in 2012 owed about $29,400 in student loan debts. That’s a whopping 25 percent growth from just four years earlier. Collectively, Americans owe nearly $1 trillion to their […]

In San Jose, California, the number of pedestrian and cyclist deaths rose to a 15-year high in 2013. With 26 deaths, it’s the highest total the city has experienced since 1997. It’s also the highest number of such fatalities of any city in the Bay Area. Though these incidents have led to a cry for […]

New minimum wage increases are coming to 13 states beginning on January 1. Though Congress has yet to discuss the minimum wage debate in Washington, states are dealing with the matter themselves. This year has been characterized by on-going fast food worker strikes and demonstrations for wage increases. The widespread support for upping the minimum […]

Bitcoin takes another hit after the largest exchange in China announced that they will no longer take deposits in yuan. As one of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchanges, the move was a major blow to the emerging alternative currency. It dropped sharply in value after news spread, falling from $618 Wednesday morning to $412 by […]

Virgin births are claimed by 0.5 percent of pregnant US women, or one in every 200. A 14-year national survey, conducted between 1995 and 2009, discovered that several respondents denied having sex — despite being pregnant and giving birth. No, these women did not get pregnant by in vitro fertilization. The researchers behind the study […]

Dennis Rodman returns to North Korea, landing on Thursday to resume his brand of “basketball diplomacy.” Rodman says he plans to hang out with Kim Jong Un and celebrate his coming birthday. In fact, the former NBA star says he plans to train a basketball team while there to play a game for the North […]

A group identifying as “men’s rights activists” recently targeted a college’s anonymous online rape report system by filling it with spam. The idea, as they explain, is to fill the system with so many false reports that it undermines its purpose and makes it unusable. The campaign began when a linkwas posted to the /r/MensRights […]

Mind control research was a serious field during the Cold War. Both Russia and the United States were putting a great deal of research into alternative weaponry and parapsychology. As a recent survey discovered, the Soviet Union spent between $500 million and one billion dollars on their programs. Perhaps most interesting is that even though […]

Utah’s polygamy law gets partially axed following a ruling in a lawsuit brought by the stars of Sister Wives. The reality TV series features a polygamous family and their daily lives. The suit was filed by Kody Brown in 2011, arguing that the Utah law banning plural relationships is unconstitutional. Brown stars on Sister Wives […]

Tensions continue to flare after Israeli army soldiers shot two Lebanese troops Monday morning. The assault was in response to the shooting of an Israeli soldier several hours beforehand. The Israeli soldier died after a Lebanese sniper shot connected with a vehicle driving on the Israeli side of the border. While the two nations have […]

Antibacterial soaps may not offer any advantage over other types of soap, claims the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Not only do these soaps seem ineffective at killing bacteria, but they may be unsafe to use. The FDA is currently considering new regulations that would need antibacterial soap makers to prove their product is safe […]

Changes at the NSA are coming soon in light of the continuing fallout from the Edward Snowden leaks. A turnover in leadership within the spy agency is just around the corner, made clear by National Security Agency deputy director John Inglis’ retirement announcement on Friday. He is set to leave at the end of this […]

A US drone strike in Yemen on Thursday left at least 14 dead and injured at least 22. An unnamed security official says that none of the dead were wanted militant suspects. He calls the attack directed at a wedding convoy a “tragic mistake.” Two important tribal leaders were among those killed in the strike. […]

The story of the fake signer who was exposed for inaccurately translating sign language during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service gets stranger — if you can believe it. A South African government official says the company which employed the phony interpreter has disappeared. Seeking answers about the embarrassing incident, the South African deputy minister of women, […]

The original commander at Guantanamo says the site should be closed in 2014. In a recent op-ed for the Detroit Free Press, Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who over saw Guantanamo’s construction, goes on to say the controversial prison “should never have been opened.” Lehnert says that he began to have reservations about Guantanamo shortly […]

A US warship took evasive action to prevent a collision with a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea last week. The maritime near-miss involved the USS Cowpens, a guided missile cruiser. The US warship was operating near the Liaoning, China’s new and only aircraft carrier on December 5. A Chinese warship changed course to […]

The Ukraine riots continue after well-armed police withdrew from Kiev’s Independence Square, or Maidan. A court ruling announced Tuesday night found the protesters in violation of the law. Soon after police in riot gear began pushing on the entrenched anti-government demonstrators camped in the Ukraine capital. Tuesday night police were seen tearing down barricades erected […]

Leo Grand, also known as the “homeless coder,” has released a new mobile app called Trees For Cars that you can download right now. After losing his job at MetLife and his home, Grand was pushed out to the street. Spending his days on the streets of Manhattan, Grand was one day approached with an […]

A man in San Diego, California, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly operating a website featuring “revenge porn.” 27-year-old Kevin Christopher Bollaert is accused of also extorting the women in the pictures. Prosecutors say he tried to force his victims to pay up to $350 to have their sensitive pictures removed. Bollaert is facing 31 felony […]

Continuing riots in the Ukraine have prompted police forces to deploy in Kiev, the nation’s capital. Ukrainian citizens have been protesting in the streets for more than three weeks. Many are upset with President Viktor Yanukovych and the government for dismissing a treaty with the European Union to instead develop Russian relations. Demonstrations on Sunday […]

A racist sign at a Sonic Drive-In fast food restaurant in Belton, Missouri, has upset a number of customers. A picture of the offensive sign board was posted online this weekend. In response, the internet community exploded in an uproar over what appears to be slurs directed at Native Americans. Public apologies for the racist […]

China’s moon rover, the first of its kind, is now in lunar orbit. On Sunday China successfully launched their new rover into space on a Long March 3B vehicle. By Friday the spacecraft, named the Chang’e 3, was officially circling the moon. Operators out of Beijing reported firing breaking thrusters for 361 seconds to get […]

FBI malware can be used in criminal investigations to track potentially dangerous suspects. However, such software toes the line of Constitutionality — the malware can follow your web use, track the physical location of your PC, and, perhaps creepiest of all, it can turn on your PC’s webcam without you knowing. That’s right: FBI malware […]

South Carolina Sheriff Rick Clark is openly disobeying a presidential order that asks flags be lowered to half-staff in memorial of Nelson Mandela’s death. Why is Clark against honoring a man admired around the world for his triumph over the horrors of South African apartheid? The sheriff from South Carolina’s Pickens County says that because […]

The new Chinese air defense zone will not be accepted by the United States, Vice President Joe Biden has said. The new air zone was announced by China on November 23 to international cries of protest. In response to the rising tensions in the Pacific Ocean, Biden is touring the region making clear the United […]

A militant attack in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, resulted in 52 deaths on Thursday. At least seven victims were foreign nationals. The attack included two-stages, first a suicide car bomb and then a firefight with armed militants. Credit for the terror strike was claimed by the Yemen branch of al Qaeda, known as al Qaeda on […]

Smog in Shanghai, China, broke air quality measures on Friday, soaring to extremely dangerous levels. For their safety, schoolchildren were ordered indoors. However, the smog is so dense that it even began to creep inside buildings. So thick was the air pollution that visibility in Shanghai was cut to just a few dozen yards in […]

The US unemployment rate has dipped to its lowest point in five years. Employers in the US hired more people in November than anticipated. This brought the number of out of work job seekers down to seven percent from 7.3 percent in October. The US Labor Department reports that 203,000 jobs were added last month. […]

December 5, 1933 saw Prohibition come to an end with the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution. The day, celebrated as a holiday by some, is also known as Repeal Day. The anniversary marks 80 years since laws banning the creation and sale of alcoholic beverages were crossed out in US law […]

Police in Glasgow say that the number of dead has risen to eight after a police helicopter crashed into a crowded pub late Friday. Rescue crews are now digging through the partly destroyed building, hoping to save trapped survivors. Authorities say that 14 people have been taken to area hospitals for injuries. As reported by […]

F-35 costs are likely to go down and save the US Department of Defense nearly $2 billion. A new order for 40 fighter jets placed by South Korea will lower the individual costs for F-35 aircraft. US manufacturer Lockheed Martin will be tasked with filling Seoul’s order. According to Reuters, insiders believe that not only […]

The NSA followed internet porn site visits and other online sexual activity of six targets in order to discredit them. The National Security Agency considers the targets to be Muslim “radicalizers,” according to the newly leaked document. It talks about the use of this type of information for exploiting “personal vulnerabilities” discovered from surveillance. The […]

CBS‘ Lara Logan is on leave after her Benghazi report on 60 Minutes in October came under fire for relying on a discredited source. Max McClellan, Logan’s producer, will also be taking a leave from CBS. The announcement was made by the news network on Tuesday. Representatives for the network say both McClellan and Logan […]

The longest held American hostage in US history officially became retired FBI agent Robert Levinson on Tuesday. Levinson disappeared mysteriously more than six years ago, with Tuesday marking day 2,455. He surpasses journalist Terry Anderson, who before had claim to being the longest held American hostage. Anderson was freed in 1991. According to New York […]

The detained American’s wife, Lee Newman, has asked that North Korea release her 85-year-old husband. Her request was issued on Friday. Newman said her husband’s arrest was “some dreadful misunderstanding” and that his family is deeply concerned about his safety. The request comes after the sudden arrest of an American named Merrill Newman, a 85-year-old […]

Debate over the teaching of evolution in Texas schools has returned to the state’s Board of Education. Concern from a materials reviewer over a biology textbook which discusses the theory of evolution has led to a delay of the textbook’s approval. Debate has once again returned to Texas over the value of teaching evolution in […]

In Latvia, a supermarket roof collapse killed at least 48 people and the death toll continues to climb. The tragic incident took place in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Thursday. Since then, emergency responders have led rescue efforts to find trapped victims and recover the dead. So far six unidentified bodies have been pulled from […]

A recently discovered gamma ray burst is quite likely the largest explosion ever witnessed by scientists. It might even be considered the largest such cosmic event ever, if not for the original Big Bang. Lucky for us on Earth, the burst didn’t come closer than 3.7 billion light-years. If our blue planet was hit by […]