Colorado Might Penalize For Not Drilling

A bill that is now in front of the Colorado house would penalize local areas for blocking or delaying oil and gas drilling.

Currently communities receive severance-tax revenues if they're affected by energy development.

The bill would penalize them by blocking them from receiving the extra revenue, if they do anything instill restrictions on oil and gas companies.

If passed, it would make Colorado all the more desirable for oil and gas producers.

Oil and gas finds within the state, have added it to the list of states which may each have more oil resources than Saudi Arabia. And then there's the natural gas to be looked at as well.

Wyoming, Alaska, and Utah are the others on that list. The Dakotas, Nebraska, Montana, and Idaho are each possibilities as well.

China and Russia Further Partnership

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin in Moscow over the weekend.


Keqiang stated that Russia and China see completely eye to eye on Syria and North Korea. The two countries have vetoed UN resolutions to increase sanctions against Syria, and are against the use of foreign troops to end the situation there.


They have both condemned an earlier launch by North Korea. But they both urge the rest of the world to remain patient with the defiant country.


He also said that the two countries signed trade agreements totaling at least $15 billion. They include contracts in, "transport, energy, communications, high technology and investment projects".

Earlier this month, the two countries held joint military exercises. The countries are working together to ensure that the world is no longer dominated by the United States.

600lb Bomb Found in Northern Ireland

Police in Northern Ireland found a 600lb unexploded bomb, on Thursday. They were able to disable it safely.

The bomb was found in an abandoned van in Newry, near the border with the Republic of Ireland. It is one of the largest ever found.

Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson stated that it could have caused "death and massive destruction" and that it had been "fully primed and ready for use".

This is the third attempted attack in the Newry area over the last few weeks, and police are believed to be the intended targets. Dissident Irish Republican Army groups are believed to be the plotters.

Early Saturday, a small bomb was found and disarmed by police, in Belfast. This one had been placed under a parked vehicle.

Saturday afternoon saw a rally, staged by mainstream Republicans, to protest violence.

Lebanon Seizes Weapons Bound for Syria

On Saturday, the Lebanese navy reported that they intercepted a ship that was carrying weapons and ammunition to Syrian opposition forces.

The ship, which had come from Libya, was carrying three containers filled with crates containing all sorts of weapons.

Syrian government officials have repeatedly accused Lebanon of allowing weapons to be smuggled through their territory.

The weapons, which included heavy weapon ammo, rocket propelled grenades, and fragmentation explosives, was apparently set to be delivered to the Syrian Free Army, one of the leading opposition groups.

Remembering: 20 K in a Game

On April 29, 1986 the Seattle Mariners visited the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Roger Clemens, pitching for Boston, became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw twenty strikeouts in a nine inning game.

Twenty strike outs in a game has been managed three times since. Once each by Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson. And again by Roger Clemens, making him not only the first person to do it, but the only one to do it twice.

The previous record of nineteen had been set by St. Louis Cardinal Steve Carlton in 1969, and tied by Met Tom Seaver in 1970 and California Angel Nolan Ryan in 1974.

The most strikeouts in a game is still owned by Washington Senators' Tom Cheney, who in 1962 had twenty-one strikeouts in sixteen innings.

Suadi Arabia Recalls Ambassador and Closes Embassy in Egypt

Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Egypt, closed the embassy in Cairo, and closed the consulates in Suez and Alexandria.

The move came after protests took place in front of all three locations, and threats were made against the staffs.

Egyptians were protesting the arrest of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed el-Geza. Saudi Arabia has sentenced him to a flogging and a year in prison for trying to smuggle drugs.

However, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights says that el-Geza was detained for demanding that Saudi Arabia treat Egyptian residents better and for criticizing the kingdom on it's human rights record.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a tense history, as the two often compete for power in the region. Saudi Arabia has been particularly displeased with Egypt's revolution last year. Some Egyptians threaten to help bring revolution to Saudi Arabia.

Costco Moves Into Home Finance

Costco has added another segment to their business. They are now offering home mortgages.

The company has been testing the program over the last year, and issued over 10,000 mortgages in that time.

Costco's new plan is to aggressively market them to all of their sixty-six million members. 

Home prices are at new lows in most of the country, and it is now cheaper to buy a home than rent one.

Yet at the same time, the foreclosure rate is going back up.

Costco is also looking into offering auto and student loans.

US Withdrawing 9,000 Marines from Okinawa

The United States and Japan have agreed upon a deal that would see 9,000 US Marines withdraw from Okinawa. The move will cut the US presence, on Okinawa, almost in half.

Around 5,000 of the troops will be re stationed on Guam. About 2,700 will be sent to Hawaii. The rest will be spread out amongst other US bases around the Pacific.

US Marines on Okinawa have been the cause of several diplomatic incidents over the years. This move is expected to help to ease tensions between the local populace and the troops.

Okinawa has been occupied by the US since near the end of WWII, when US forces captured it from Japan. Japan was given the islands back in 1979, but the troops remained to fend off the Communist threat.

The troop relocation will cost an estimated $8.6 billion. Japan has agreed to pay for $3.1 billion of that. As Marines leave the island, the land they vacate will be turned over to the Japanese government.

Remembering: The Tea Act

April 27, 1773 the British Parliament passes the Tea Act in an effort to save the East India company from bankruptcy.

The British Prime Minister Lord North, ignored the possibility that the colonists would protest the taxation.

But to the colonists it was further proof of  the tyranny they were facing. The colonists, however, felt differently.

When the first British ships carrying tea under the new tax, reached Boston harbor, the colonists demanded they return to England. Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to have them sent back.

On December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and around sixty other members of the Sons of Liberty boarded the ships disguised as Mohawk Indians and dumped the tea into the harbor.

The British responded by passing the Coercive Acts, known by the colonists as the Intolerable Acts. The acts closed Boston harbor to trade, put Massachusetts under martial law, set British officials above the law in America, and required colonists to house British troops. The colonists responded to those by forming the First Continental Congress.

Remembering: Israeli Independence Day

May 14, 1948 Israel gains independence, becoming the first and only democratic republic in the Middle East. Most of the world was quick to recognize the new state, except the Arab countries. They declared war.

In a series of conflicts, with short ceasefires between, the young Israeli nation successfully fought off the hordes of invaders. On March 10, 1949 a cease fire was signed, which recognized Israeli independence, and set borders.

The road since has not been an easy one. Many struggles have faced the nation, including more wars and attempted invasions.

To this day, the country is randomly attacked by rockets from it's neighbors. Suicide bombers, are a constant threat. Regimes in other countries pledge to eradicate Israel. Even when not being fired upon, their borders are being threatened by international negotiations to form a Palestinian state.

Yet somehow, the Israeli people not only survive, but thrive. They continue to grow a culture that is one of the most appreciative of life, that the world has ever seen.

Israel marks their independence day as being the 5th of Iyar, from the Jewish calendar. Due to laws, it is often celebrated on the 4th and 6th of Iyar instead.