The Final Hour: March 2015

Turkey power outage hits big cities

The cuts affected power stations and public transport, including Istanbul's tram and metro systems.

A crisis centre has been set up at the energy ministry.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said all possible causes are being examined, including terrorism. The cut hit at 10:36 (07:36 GMT) on Tuesday morning.

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria From American Cattle Become Airborne

Airborne particulate matter wafting off American cattle yards contains antibiotics, bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant DNA, a new study finds. Environmental tests on the spread of antibiotics have been performed in the past, but this is the first time researchers have examined aerial dispersion. The work suggests airborne transmission may be contributing to an emerging global health problem, where doctors find it increasingly difficult to treat life-threatening infections.

Read More: http://www.medicaldaily.com/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-american-cattle-become-airborne-it-life-threatening-327472

Multiple Earthquakes Recorded In Oklahoma

at 12:57 a.m., a 3.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded 11 miles west of Stillwater, At 1:06 a.m., a 3.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded ten miles west of Stillwater, And again, at 9:17 a.m., another 3.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded 11 miles east, northeast of Perry

Read More: http://www.news9.com/story/28647817/multiple-earthquakes-recorded-in-oklahoma

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON

On Saturday morning, April 4th, sky watchers in the USA can see a brief but beautiful total eclipse of the Moon.

NY Assembly Passes Abortion Bill Allowing Shooting 3rd Trimester Babies Through the Heart With Poison

The New York State Assembly voted a resounding 94-49 Wednesday to approve a bill that would allow third trimester abortions using procedures such as a shot of poison to the baby’s heart by medical professionals who won’t necessarily be doctors. “And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.” 2 Kings 17:17 (KJV)

Read More: http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=32077

Sierra Leone Ebola lockdown exposes hundreds of suspected cases

A three-day lockdown in Sierra Leone has exposed hundreds of potential new cases of Ebola, aiding efforts to bring to an end an epidemic that has already killed 3,000 people in the country. Reports to authorities of sick people increased by 191 percent in Western Area, which includes the capital, during the lockdown compared with the previous weekend, said Obi Sesay of the National Ebola Response Center.

Read More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/30/us-health-ebola-leone-idUKKBN0MQ1XR20150330

Second western Minnesota turkey farm hit by bird flu outbreak

A second Minnesota turkey farm has been struck by a form of bird flu that's deadly to poultry and will lose 66,000 birds, state and federal officials said Friday.

Read More: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_27799548/second-western-minnesota-turkey-farm-hit-by-bird

Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued

A major earthquake with a magnitude 7.7 struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, official monitors said, and a tsunami warning was issued soon after. The epicenter of the 33 km (22 mile) deep quake was near the town of Rabaul in the northeast of Papua New Guinea, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/major-7-7-quake-strikes-off-papua-guinea-001648432.html

Big Brother Is Here: Facebook Reveals Its Master Plan - Control All News Flow

In recent months, Facebook has been quietly holding talks with at least half a dozen media companies about hosting their content inside Facebook rather than making users tap a link to go to an external site.

Read More: http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/03/24/facebook-reveals-its-master-plan-control-all-news-flow/

Strong earthquakes strike South Pacific

A pair of strong earthquakes struck off the South Pacific nations of Tonga and Samoa on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and a depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles), striking 109 kilometers (68 miles) northeast of Tonga’s Hihifo district Monday night.

Read More: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2015/03/30/earthquake-generates-tsunami-off-papua-new-guinea/70nJSZWzECLXwTsLogJ1PM/story.html

California Is Turning Back Into A Desert And There Are No Contingency Plans

Once upon a time, much of the state of California was a barren desert. And now, thanks to the worst drought in modern American history, much of the state is turning back into one. Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century that the state of California had seen in 1000 years. But now weather patterns are reverting back to historical norms, and California is rapidly running out of water.

Read More: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/california-is-turning-back-into-a-desert-and-there-are-no-contingency-plans

Germanwings Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before Crash in France

As officials struggled Wednesday to explain why a jet with 150 people on board crashed amid a relatively clear sky, an investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in.

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/europe/germanwings-airbus-crash.html?_r=1

Deadly tornado rips through Tulsa, Oklahoma

At least one person has been killed and several others were injured after a tornado roared through Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa police said the death occurred inside a mobile home park near suburban Sand Springs on Wednesday. The park was nearly destroyed in the storm. "It could have been much worse," Sheriff's Capt Billy McKinley said.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32061728

Two dead as flash flooding hits Chile Atacama desert region

Flash floods in one of the driest regions in the world - Chile's Atacama desert - have left two people dead and 24 missing, officials say. They say thousands of people are now without electricity or water, as heavy rains in the Andes sent floodwater down into the valleys and towns below. In the city of Copiapo, the river burst its banks.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32062039

Peru mudslide emergency declared in Chosica near Lima

The Peruvian authorities have announced a state of emergency in a town which was hit by an avalanche of mud and rocks on Monday. A torrent of mud and water sent car-sized boulders crashing through the town of Chosica, 47 km (29 miles) from the capital Lima. At least seven people were killed and 65 houses destroyed.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32061602

Saudi Arabia launches airstrikes against Yemen rebels

Saudi Arabia has launched a military operation against Shiite rebels threatening the government in Yemen, the kingdom’s ambassador to the US said Wednesday night, as five Gulf states said they would protect embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Read More: http://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-launches-airstrikes-against-yemen-rebels/

US Declassifies Document Revealing Israel's Nuclear Program

Obama revenge for Netanyahu's Congress talk? 1987 report on Israel's top secret nuclear program released in unprecedented move. In a development that has largely been missed by mainstream media, the Pentagon early last month quietly declassified a Department of Defense top-secret document detailing Israel's nuclear program, a highly covert topic that Israel has never formally announced to avoid a regional nuclear arms race, and which the US until now has respected by remaining silent.

Read More: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193175#.VRQ2RPzF-zl

Canada plans to expand air strikes against IS militants

Canada will extend its air strike campaign against Islamic State (IS) into Syria, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced. "In our view, ISIL [IS] must cease to have any safe haven in Syria," Mr Harper said in the House of Commons. Canada's mission against IS will also be extended for one year, beyond October's election and well into 2016.

Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32029156

White House reveals 'hatred' for Israel

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough recently publicly demanded an Israeli “occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end,” pushing the relations between the U.S. and its chief Middle East ally for decades to the breaking point.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/author-white-house-reveals-hatred-for-israel/#ztf4Z4Dt49hDahI7.99

US drone kills 11 Taliban members in Pakistan

The drone attack, late on Tuesday, was in Kunar province, near the site of fierce fighting on the Pakistani side of the border.

Read More: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-drone-kills-11-Taliban-members-in-Pakistan-395021

US test-fires intercontinental missile in California

An intercontinental ballistic missile was fired early Monday from a facility in California, the US Air Force announced, saying the tests were a message to the world about Washington's nuclear capabilities. The Minuteman III missile was fitted with a “test re-entry vehicle” instead of a live thermonuclear warhead, and wastest-launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB) in California at 03:36 local time (10:36 GMT), according to the Air Force statement.

Read More: http://rt.com/usa/243353-usaf-nuclear-icbm-test/

Ted Cruz is Running for President as the Anti-Obama

In a midnight twitter announcement, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made it official: he is running to become the next president of the United States of America.

Cruz is, like all things iconically Texan, larger than life.

The son of a Cuban activist who was imprisoned and tortured, Ted Cruz is an ardent Evangelical Christian, and a huge supporter of Israel.

Diplomat: Obama Seeking 'Revenge' on Netanyahu

"The White House has three main motives," the source explained to Walla! News. "One, revenge (for Netanyahu's speech in Congress). Two, frustration. It's no secret that they were involved in an attempt to bring down the Netanyahu and we know that clearly, and they have failed. Three, the government's attempt to shift the focus from them because the negotiations with Iran to the Palestinian issue."

Read More: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193100#.VRF-2_zF-zk

Russia threatens to aim nuclear missiles at Denmark ships if it joins NATO shield

Russia threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joins NATO's missile defense system... Denmark said in August it would contribute radar capacity on some of its warships to the missile shield, which the Western alliance says is designed to protect members from missile launches from countries like Iran.

Read More:

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/russia-target-denmarks-warships-joins-missile-shield-ambassador-164606187.html

Massive Sinkholes Break Open As Dead Sea Shrivels

There are more than 3,000 sinkholes on the banks of the Dead Sea -- and they're multiplying exponentially, according to environmentalists, as the body of water dries up.

Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/International/massive-sinkholes-break-open-dead-sea-shrivels/story?id=29671903

Plunging Oil Prices: The Challenge for the Gulf Oil Economies

The decline in oil prices from $115 per barrel in June 2014 to less than $60 per barrel in March 2015 (Crude Oil Brent) was caused in part by the refusal of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower production. One explanation for the willingness of the Gulf states to suffer a steep decline in their short term revenues is their desire to moderate the effect of the energy revolution led by the US, which accelerated its oil production rate by about 50 percent since 2008 as a result of substantial technological improvements.

Read More: http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/70619

U.S. Sets First Fracking Rules Since Process Fueled Gas Boom

The Obama administration issued the first federal regulations for fracking since the drilling technique fueled a domestic energy boom, requiring extensive disclosures of the chemicals used on public land.

Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-20/u-s-sets-first-fracking-rules-since-process-fueled-energy-boom

Amazon to test fly delivery drones

Amazon.com has won over U.S. regulators' approval to test-fly drones that deliver packages autonomously, the FAA says.

Read More: http://www.reuters.com/video/2015/03/19/amazon-to-test-fly-delivery-drones?videoId=363567806

Israel Election Result Complicates Life for Clinton

Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state who has long advocated a two-state solution and once took credit for starting what were then secret talks for an Iran nuclear deal that Mr. Netanyahu vehemently opposes, is now likely to be under increased pressure from her own party to speak up against a government that is openly hostile to Mr. Obama. But if she criticizes Israel, she risks prompting an influential segment of more conservative Jewish Democrats to withhold their support from her presidential campaign, or even to defect to a Republican candidate in 2016.

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/us/politics/israel-election-result-complicates-life-for-hillary-rodham-clinton.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=2

Total Solar Eclipse to Dazzle Arctic Circle on Friday

This week, the moon will completely cover the disk of the sun, creating a solar eclipse that only a small part of the world can see.

Read More: http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/total-solar-eclipse-to-dazzle-arctic-circle-on-friday-150319.htm

Industry makes $7,000 for each tobacco death: health campaigners

The tobacco industry makes $7,000 for each of the more than 6 million people who die each year from smoking-related illness, the health campaign group World Lung Foundation (WLF) said on Thursday.

Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/19/us-health-tobacco-idUSKBN0MF1SF20150319

How Effective Was a Los Angeles Fast-Food Ban? Well…

In 2008, Los Angeles instituted restrictions on fast-food restaurants in the hope they would reduce and prevent incidents of obesity. A new study says the effort has done no such thing.

In fact, the research published in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that overweight and obesity rates in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods actually increased faster than other parts of the city after the law’s restrictions were instituted, according to a news release about the study.

Read More: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/19/how-effective-was-a-los-angeles-fast-food-ban-well/

Solar Eclipse, Spring Equinox, Supermoon: Trio of Celestial Events Set for Friday

A total solar eclipse is headlining an incredible show in the sky this Friday, which will also include two other celestial events -- a supermoon and the spring equinox.

Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/solar-eclipse-spring-equinox-supermoon-trio-celestial-events/story?id=29727161&google_editors_picks=true

Should the government force citizens to vote?

On Wednesday during a town hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio President Barack Obama floated the idea of making voting in America compulsory. The deputy secretary of State for New Hampshire, the front-line state for presidential elections, doesn't endorse the concept.

Read More: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0319/Should-the-government-force-citizens-to-vote

Hillary Clinton Still Leads In Early 2016 Polls

Hillary Clinton's standing in 2016 polling matchups remains generally where it was before the story about her emails broke, a CNN poll released Wednesday finds.

"Her prospects in 2016 appear largely unchanged compared to polls conducted before news broke about her use of a personal email address and home-based server while serving as secretary of state," writes CNN's polling director, Jennifer Agiesta.

Solar eclipse: humans have been frightened and fascinated by the moon hiding the sun since the beginning of time

In China, tradition dictates that huge drums are beaten and rituals staged in an attempt to scare away the dragon that has eaten the sky. In India, pregnant women are sent indoors to avoid the shadow that could cause bad luck to those that are underneath it. And across the world, people have taken to social networks in advance of the latest solar eclipse this week.

Read More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/solar-eclipse-humans-have-been-frightened-and-fascinated-by-the-moon-hiding-the-sun-since-the-beginning-of-time-10119665.html

'Groundbreaking' malaria discovery holds hope for new treatments

Malaria was responsible for approximately 584,000 deaths in 2013, the majority of which were among children in Africa. Now, researchers from Michigan State University claim to have made a groundbreaking discovery about cerebral malaria, a deadly form of the disease: it is brain swelling that causes children to die from it - a finding that may pave the way for new treatments.

Read More: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/291002.php

Pregnant Woman's Baby Cut From Womb at Craiglist Meet in Colorado

A pregnant woman was attacked and had her baby cut from her womb when she responded to a Craiglist ad posted by a stranger, police in Colorado said Wednesday.

Read More: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-stabs-expectant-mother-removes-baby-womb-police-n326206

Your minute-by-minute solar eclipse timeline for the British Isles

Now that the big event is almost upon us, excitement is reaching fever pitch. If you haven’t already read them, I urge you to peruse the 2015 Arctic total solar eclipse, get ready for the eclipse and our complete guide to seeing the solar eclipse in safety.

So, now that you know what causes a solar eclipse, where you are most likely to see the March 20th event at its best (weather permitting) and how to view it safely by a variety of means, when exactly will it all happen for you? That’s what this page is all about — your personal timeline to the event from the perspective of the British Isles.

Read More: http://astronomynow.com/2015/03/18/your-minute-by-minute-solar-eclipse-timeline-for-the-british-isles/