Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/engineers-create-plants-that-glow-illumination-from-nanobionic-plants-might-one-day-replace-some-electrical-lighting/

MIT engineers embedding specialized nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, they induced the plants to give off dim light for nearly four hours. “The vision is to make a plant that will function as a desk lamp — a lamp that you don’t have to plug in. The light is ultimately powered by the energy metabolism of the plant itself,” says Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. This technology could also be used to provide low-intensity indoor lighting, or to transform trees into self-powered streetlights.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/New_City_Ordinance_Outlaws_Giving_Money_to_Panhandlers%2C_Violators_Will_Be_Fined_%26_Jailed/62190/0/38/38/Y/M.html

City of Wichita made panhandling a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $500 and 30 days in jail. The ordinance also fines motorists with the same fines and possible jail time if they choose to give to the homeless.

Link: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/california-legislators-appear-to-spend-every-waking-hour-finding-new-ways-to-tax-their-citizens_122017

California is number one in state income taxes, and number 10 in sales tax charges, but these do not include the vast number of other fees and charges. Mileage tax may require the state being allowed to track your cell phone without a warrant to be able to monitor and tax your travel. Over the past 20 years California has seen a large migration of both individuals and businesses leaving the state

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/413327-trump-russia-help-nkorea/

President Donald Trump would like to have Russia’s help to deal with North Korea, he told reporters following his phone call with President Vladimir Putin.

"The primary point was to talk about North Korea, because we would love to have his help on North Korea. China's helping, Russia's not helping; we'd like to have Russia's help," Trump said at a briefing outside the White House.

On Thursday, Trump and Putin discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula during a phone call initiated by Washington. Describing his conversation with Putin, Trump said it was “great."

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Predominant_doctor_who_exposed_the_non-existence_of_Clinton_Foundation-promised_medical_care_in_Haiti_found_dead_with_knife_in_chest/62120/0/38/38/Y/M.html

A well-known surgeon who exposed major inadequacies in medical trauma care promised to the Haitian people by the Clinton Foundation after the non-profit raised over $30 million dollars in donations following the devastating 2010 earthquake was found dead in his upscale apartment Sunday with a stab wound to the chest.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/412846-litecoin-growth-bitcoin-record/

While bitcoin’s 1,700 percent rally seems impressive, there is a cryptocurrency whose value grew much faster this year – litecoin. On Tuesday, litecoin set another record high of $341, up an astounding 85 percent in the last 24 hours. On January 1, the virtual currency was worth just above $4.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/412903-drug-company-vitamin-price-hike/

Following the lead of pharma-bro Martin Shkreli, a US drug company has hiked the price of a prescription version of vitamin B3 pills by over 800 percent. A drug used to treat respiratory ailments also got a price hike of nearly 2,500 percent.

Avondale Pharmaceuticals raised the price of Niacor, a prescription-only version of niacin (vitamin B3), by 809 percent last month. This means a bottle of 100 tablets went from costing $32.46 to $295.

While the drug is available over the counter, some doctors prefer to prescribe a version that has US Food and Drug Administration approval. The drug is used to lower cholesterol to reduce the chance of having a heart attack. The company also acquired another generic, SSKI, and increased its price by 2,499 percent, taking a 30ml bottle from $11.48 to $295.

Link: https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/la-burns-republicans-vote-tax-hike-victims

According to the Los Angeles Times, contained within theRepublican tax bill is a literal tax hike on people whose property is destroyed or damaged by “natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes." This will also affect "losses from fires, accidents, thefts or vandalism.” It turns out the Republicans decided to help pay for their tax cuts for the super-wealthy by eliminating the “casualty loss” tax deduction for victims of these natural disasters.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/bank-of-america-secures-patent-for-cryptocurrency-exchange-system/

Bank of America‘s patent application for its proposed cryptocurrency exchange system has been accepted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The system will enable automatic conversion of one cryptocurrency into another, and the exchange rates will be calculated based on external data feeds.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/412684-bitcoin-soars-futures-trading-launch/

The price of bitcoin has soared by nearly a quarter to almost $17,000 in the past 24 hours after the Chicago-based exchange, Cboe, launched the first bitcoin futures contracts on Sunday. It increased 8 percent in less than 10 minutes after trading began.

Significant traffic around the futures launch triggered temporary delays and outages, with bitcoin maintaining a steady rise since the initial jump. The world’s number-one virtual currency was trading at over $16,900 at 8:26 GMT.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/412690-putin-syria-comes-khmeimim/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria. He announced the move during his first visit to the country, as he arrived with no advance notice at Khmeimim Airbase in Syria’s Latakia province on Monday morning.

A “significant part” of the Russian military contingent in Syria should return to Russia, Putin announced, addressing Russian military personnel at Khmeimim. The order to withdraw followed the defeat of “the most battle-hardened grouping of international terrorists” by the Russian and Syrian militaries in the space of two years.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/46-earthquakes-shaken-california-past-24-hours/

Over the past 24 hours, California has been hit by 46 earthquakes. That is approximately twice the normal daily number.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/military/201712091059842022-pakistan-shoot-down-drones-airspace-us/

The head of the Pakistani Air Force launched a new policy Friday stating that any and all drones operating within Pakistani airspace must be shot down, the Times of India reports.

"We will not allow anyone to violate our airspace," PAF chief Sohail Aman said. He warned that that he "ordered PAF to shoot down drones, including those of the US, if they enter our airspace, violating the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Link: https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201712081059841070-israeli-jets-targets-gaza-strip/

Skirmishes between the Israelis and Palestinians escalated Friday on the Gaza Strip after Israeli Air Force warplanes targeted militants in response to rocket attacks. Just days earlier, US President Donald Trump made a highly controversial announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.

Palestinian security officials confirmed that at least 10 people were wounded by the airstrike. The fighters targeted military facilities used by Hamas, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Link: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-manic-gdax-goes-down-after-price-clips-19000/

Bitcoin’s record-setting run took another unprecedented turn on Thursday, as the bitcoin price ripped past $19,000 on cryptocurrency exchange GDAX. The breathtaking climb saw bitcoin rise more than $5,000 in a span of 12 hours. The journey from $17,000 to $18,000 took just fifteen minutes, and the leap from $18,000 to $19,000 was accomplished in five. By 11:30 a.m. ET — the end of the surge — the bitcoin price had reached $19,697.

Link: http://tass.com/economy/979355

Bitcoin exchange rate rose by 10.5% to $13,081 for the first time. On November 29, the cryptocurrency set a historic record, rising by more than 10% and breaking the $11,000 mark. Earlier on November 28 bitcoin exchange rate exceeded $10,000 for the first time, according to the data of the electronic cryptocurrency platform Coinmarketcap.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/%E2%80%98Yes%2C_I_will%E2%80%99%3A_Vladimir_Putin_announces_run_for_re-election_in_2018/61991/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he will seek another term in office in next year’s presidential election adding that with the “active involvement” of its people, Russia “can deal with any, even the most complex challenges it faces.”“Russia will go only forward and no one will ever stop it. He added that “the motive behind [this very responsible decision] can be only the desire to make people’s lives in our country better and make the country itself more powerful and protected.”

The upcoming election on March 18 will be the fourth in Putin’s political career. He held the office of president for two terms from 2000 to 2008, and served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. Putin then won a third term as president in 2012.

Link: http://govtslaves.info/2017/12/bankrupt-toys-r-us-wins-ok-pay-16-million-executive-bonuses/

Toys “R” Us has won approval to pay $16 million in bonuses to 17 top executives if the company hits financial targets during the holiday shopping season.

The bankruptcy court trustee Judy Robbins, a Justice department attorney who represents the interest of creditors, had argued that the proposed bonuses were excessive and were little more than retention bonuses meant to keep the executives from jumping ship due to uncertainty about the company’s future.

While companies in bankruptcy are allowed to issue incentive bonuses, retention bonuses are not permitted.

“It defies logic and wisdom, not to mention the Bankruptcy Code, that a bankrupt company would now propose further multi-million dollar bonuses for the senior leadership of a company that began the year with employee layoffs and concludes it in the midst of the holiday season in bankruptcy,” she argued in her filing. “

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/412183-california-skirball-fire-evacuations/

Authorities in Los Angeles, California have ordered evacuations of nearly 200,000 residents as the rampaging Skirball Fire began to consume homes and shut down part of Interstate 405, one of the busiest freeways in the US.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/412120-canada-wont-buy-boeing/

Plans to buy 18 Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets have been scrapped by the Canadian government due to the deepening dispute with the US aerospace company, The move comes in response to a 220 percent tariff the US placed on Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier after Boeing accused the company of dumping airliners on the American market. The Premier of Canada's Quebec Province Philippe Couillard has blasted Boeing, accusing the company of unfairly trying to destroy Bombardier. Ottawa has slammed the company for not acting as a trusted partner.

The trade dispute comes at a time when the United States and Canada are deadlocked in negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which, according to US President Donald Trump has not done enough to protect US jobs.

The future of Boeing’s military sales in Canada is also on hold. According to the US firm, its commercial and defense operations in Canada support more than 17,000 Canadian jobs.