Peanut Butter News

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LAVEEN, Ariz — Don’t tread on Andy C. McDonel.

This year, Mr. McDonel began flying a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag on his roof in this unincorporated area just outside Phoenix. The historic banner — which dates to 1775, when it was hoisted aboard ships during the initial days of the Revolutionary War — has been adopted by the Tea Party movement. But Mr. McDonel said that he had unfurled the flag for its historical significance and nothing else

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WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Thursday gave up plans to attempt to pass an energy-global warming bill that caps greenhouse gases, abandoning a priority of President Barack Obama.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said no Republican was willing to back a comprehensive energy bill, a development he called “terribly disappointing.”

Democrats have been trying for more than a year to pass a plan that charges power plants and other large polluters for their heat-trapping carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming. The House voted 219-212 last year for a “cap and trade” plan featuring economic incentives to reduce heat-trapping gases from power plants, vehicles and other sources.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — The Utah Department of Workforce Services has moved to fire two employees believed to have created and distributed a list containing personal information of 1,300 purported illegal immigrants, officials said Tuesday.

The agency terminated a temporary worker and issued an “intent to terminate employment” notice to the other, spokesman Dave Lewis said. The latter career employee is on paid administrative leave pending a hearing, he said.

Information from a completed internal review of the data leak will be given to the state’s attorney general Wednesday for possible legal action, the department said.

Full Story at CNN.com

Washington (CNN) — Less than a week after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the United States, the Justice Department announced Monday that 10 people were arrested on charges of being Russian agents involved in a long-term mission in the country. Another suspect was still being sought.

Five of the arrested suspects appeared in a New York courtroom Monday. Four of the five, including a longtime U.S.-based columnist for the Spanish-language “El Diario” newspaper, were advised of their rights and ordered held due to flight risk, with their next hearing scheduled for July 1.

Full Story at msnbc.com

SARGODHA, Pakistan – A Pakistani court on Thursday convicted five Americans on terror charges and sentenced each to at least 10 years in prison, a prosecutor said.

They were accused of contacting militants in Pakistan over the Internet and plotting terrorist attacks.

Rana Bakhtiar made the announcement Thursday in the Punjab town of Sargodha. He said the men have the right to appeal.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — A proposed Arizona law would deny birth certificates to children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents.

The bill comes on the heels of Arizona passing the nation’s toughest immigration law.

John Kavanagh, a Republican state representative from Arizona who supports the proposed law aimed at so-called “anchor babies,” said that the concept does not conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

Full Story at NYTimes.c

Boeing will buy the rights to build a midsize helicopter from AgustaWestland, a European company, according to Philip J. Dunford, vice president and general manager of Boeing Rotorcraft Systems. AgustaWestland had previously teamed with Lockheed Martin for the project, which the Pentagon canceled in June 2009, citing cost overruns.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – The man removed from an Aeromexico flight bound for Mexico City Sunday was the subject of a terror warning issued for the U.S.-Mexico border last week, senior U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News on Monday.

Homeland Security had asked law enforcement in Houston to be on the lookout for a suspected member of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida ally based in Somalia, early last week, the sources said.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — For the nation’s unemployed, here we go again.

The House voted Friday to extend the deadline to file for federal unemployment benefits, but not before the Senate recessed for a week-long Memorial Day break. So jobless Americans will start running out of benefits after June 2.

Full Story at goodnewsdaily.com

The valiant actions of three injured U.S. army soldiers were recognized during a March 26 Warriors in Transition Purple Heart ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The prestigious award was presented to U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jason Mazzella, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Robert Sutherland and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ferdale Huey, all of whom are Walter Reed patients. They are recovering from injuries suffered during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Huey said he recognized the medal is often awarded posthumously.

Full Story at msnbc.com

SEOUL – South Korea accused North Korea Thursday of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship in March, killing 46 sailors in the country’s worst military disaster since the Korean War.

South Korea said it would take “firm” measures against its impoverished and reclusive neighbor, which furiously responded that it was ready for war if Seoul or its allies imposed sanctions.