Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/414764-cannabis-california-legal-2018/

Californians woke up on Monday to a stimulating New Year’s gift: legal recreational cannabis. The state is set to become the world’s largest regulated, commercial market of recreational marijuana. Over two decades after California legalized the medical use of marijuana, America’s most populous state joins Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Nevada to grant stores licenses for selling recreational pot to adults 21 or older.

Under Proposition 64, which passed in November 2016, Californians can also legally grow up to six plants for personal use and possess as much as one ounce.

Tax revenues from sales of cannabis are expected to generate at least one billion a year

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/414766-iran-officer-killed-protests/

One officer was killed and three were wounded in the protests in Iran, Reuters reports, citing state media. It is understood that a “rioter” opened fire on police in Najafabad, although the timing of the shooting is unclear.

Iran is still witnessing a wave of demonstrations, which are being held in many cities across the country. The protests initially began on Thursday, as people took to the streets to express their discontent over soaring food prices and unemployment.

However, a number of the rallies soon turned into larger anti-government demonstrations as the crowds directed their anger at the Iranian government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Link: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-22/bombshell-dhs-report-reveals-30-federal-inmates-illegal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its findings on the immigration status of federal prison inmates, as mandated in a controversial Executive Order signed during the President Trump's first week in the White House. The report reveals that of the 37,557 confirmed immigrants in the federal prison system, 35,334 (94%) of them are in the United States illegally - which means out of a total of 185,507, federally incarcerated individuals, over 19% are confirmed illegal immigrants - which, in 2014, cost U.S. taxpayers $1.87 billion to house.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/413931-bitcoin-plunges-30-percent/

The price of bitcoin fell to less than $12,000 on Friday, according to CoinDesk.com. That makes an 27-percent drop since its previous slide, and more than 40 percent since it reached the historic $20,000 mark last week.

The cryptocurrency has experienced its second major drop in just days. Rival bitcoin cash has also fallen, plunging to $2,536 per coin, following its rapid climb of more than 50 percent to almost $4,330 per token on December 20.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/414231-marijuana-us-sales-rise/

Legal cannabis sales in the US have seen a sharp increase this year, with total purchases growing by 30 percent, a report by Marijuana Business Daily says. It suggests sales could grow even more next year.

Legal pot sales could increase by another 45 percent in 2018, the latest annual report by Marijuana Business Daily said. The publication, a trade news website for professionals in the recreational and medical cannabis industry in the US, further forecasts that legal weed sales in America could quadruple between 2016 and 2021, with the marijuana market eventually hitting highs of $17 billion in sales.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/414194-bus-moscow-crash-tunnel/

Five people were killed by a bus that crashed down the stairs of an underground passage in western Moscow, police said. The driver of the bus was taken into custody.

Link: https://www.snopes.com/2017/12/21/marijuana-activist-since-1960s-facing-california-pot-charges/

Irvin Dana Beal, 70, of New York, was arrested Saturday in Northern California after prosecutors said his rental car was spotted weaving across the road and driving 20 miles below the speed limit. James Statzer, 51, of Michigan, also was arrested.

The arrest occurred along a well-traveled highway in California’s famed Emerald Triangle area, known for its high-grade pot. A police dog smelled marijuana during the stop and 22 pounds of the drug was found.

Beal has been promoting marijuana’s medical benefits for decades. Recreational sales of marijuana become legal in California on Jan. 1, and medical marijuana has been legal in the state since 1996. But it’s still illegal to transport large quantities of the drug or to take it out of state.

It’s not uncommon for traffickers to think they can now transport pot risk-free, said Deputy District Attorney Colleen Murray, who is prosecuting the case.

Defense attorney Tom Ballanco said it’s not clear if his two clients thought they were acting legally.

Link: http://tass.com/defense/982119

"This year, the security services have foiled the plans of preparing over 60 terror-related crimes," "It is necessary to strengthen both external and internal contours of Russia anti-terror security, carry out work to eliminate financial and recruitment networks, counter the attempts by extremists and radicals to influence the youth, the attempts to spread the ideology of hatred, religious intolerance and aggressive nationalism,"Putin said at a special ceremony devoted to Security Service Workers’ Day.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/science/201712201060152195-oldest-cryo-preserved-embryo-born/?utm_source=adfox_flite_626004&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=2340006&utm_campaign=adfox_site-campaign_41917-63665&ues=1

Woman from Tennessee delivered a baby that has been cryo-preserved as an embryo in 1992.

Emma Wren, weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches long, has been born on November 25 to the Gibson family from Tennessee, Standard Newswire reports. It would have been an ordinary birth, if only the baby has not been frozen for 24 years.

Emma has been frozen on October 14, 1992 and thawed by NEDC Lab Director Carol Sommerfelt on March 13, 2017, the website tells. The embryo has been transferred to Tina Gibson via frozen embryo transfer (FET) procedure. This makes Emma the holder of the world record for being frozen as embryo for the longest time ever.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/%22It%E2%80%99s_Unprecedented%22%3A_Bank_Of_New_York_Freezes_%2423_Billion_In_Kazakh_Assets/62324/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Bank of New York Mellon said it had frozen $22.6 billion in assets held by Kazakhstan’s National Oil Fund in a rare move that escalates a legal battle between the government and a Moldovan investor. According to Reuters, Moldova’s Anatolie Stati and his companies had earlier won damages against the Kazakh government, and his pursuit of payment has resulted in some 40% of the oil revenue-supported fund being frozen. Putting the freeze in context, it is roughly equivalent to 17% of Kazakh GDP.

Link: https://www.theepochtimes.com/president-trump-declares-national-emergency-over-global-rights-abuses-and-corruption_2393803.html

In his executive order, the president said that rights abuses and corruption “have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic system.”

The executive order allows for the freezing of assets, within U.S. jurisdiction, of foreigners who commit severe human rights abuses, or corruption, for the most part outside of the United States.

“Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degraded the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets,” Trump wrote in the executive order.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/413913-billions-are-stolen-from-workers/

Through the efforts of the federal Department of Labor, state labor departments and private lawyers, almost $2 billion has been recovered in 39 states during 2015 and 2016. Wage theft occurs when employers refuse to pay promised wages, remunerate employees for only some of the hours they worked, or fail in overtime payments when an employee works for more than 40 hours in a week. California recovered $117 million for workers between 2015 and 2016, followed by New York which won back $84.6 million.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/413921-loapi-cryptocurrency-mining-malware/

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab has exposed a powerful malware that infiltrates smartphones to secretly mine cryptrocurrency and carry out DDoS attacks.

Loapi, the malicious software, is so power-hungry that it can overheat your battery and fry your phone. The virus physically destroyed the Kaspersky Lab test phone just two days after being infected with it.

. “Because of the constant load caused by the mining module and generated traffic, the battery bulged and deformed the phone cover.

Loapi is Trojan malware that is most commonly picked up by users who click on ad banner advertising in adult content apps. Pop up advertisements for fake anti-virus software is also a common vehicle for the malware.

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/20/man-lost-127-million-worth-of-bitcoins-and-city-wont-let-him-look.html

James Howells, an IT worker in the United Kingdom, knows exactly where his misplaced 7,500 bitcoins are but the city council where he lives won't let him retrieve them. They say it's against the law.

According to a report published in The Telegraph, Howells began mining bitcoin on his personal laptop in 2009. He kept the drive he used to collect the bitcoins. While cleaning his home in 2013, he mistakenly put it into a waste bin at his local landfill site in Newport, South Wales, where it got buried.

Now, with bitcoin's value hovering just above $17,000 , Howells' 7,500 lost bitcoins are worth more than $127 million.

Four years' worth of garbage have poured into the dump since his mistake, would make recovery effort a significant undertaking. "A modern landfill is a complex engineering project and digging one up brings up environmental issues, dangerous gasses and potential landfill fires," Howells says. "It's a big, expensive and risky project."

Newport City Council won't allow it.

A council spokesperson said their offices have been "contactedabout the possibility of retrieving a piece of IT hardware said to contain bitcoins," but digging up, storing and treating the waste could cause a "huge environmental impact on the surrounding area."

The landfill contains 350,000 tons of waste, 50,000 more tons added every year.

Likely the hardware suffered corrosion due to the presence of landfill leachates and gases.

The operation could require specialty-construction vehicles, might cost millions. Howells has the "financial backing in place" to fund such an effort, he needs permission: The landfill not open to the public, trespassing a criminal offense.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Flights_Logs_Show_A_Single_Israeli_Plane_Secretly_Flew_Out_of_Atlanta_During_Airport_Blackout/62285/0/38/38/Y/M.html

According to the air traffic website, FlightRadar24, there was at least one flight that landed at the airport right before the power went out and then left in the middle of the ordeal. A Boeing 747, with the tail number 4X-ICB, is a cargo plane that landed in Atlanta from Mexico City at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The plane is operated by CAL Cargo Airlines, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its fleet consists of three Boeing 747’s and it claims to transport a variety of cargo, including “controlled pharmaceutical and healthcare products, live animals, dangerous goods, oversize and overweight cargo.”

The airline’s website lists two members on its Board of Directors—Chairman & CEO, Offer Gilboa, an Israeli entrepreneur who previously worked for one of the largest commercial real estate companies in Israel; and Vice Chairman Muli Ravina, an Israeli businessman who previously worked as Assistant to the Director General at the Ministry of Finance.

Link: https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/nothing-like-this-or-even-close-has-ever-happened-atlanta-airport-blackout-is-a-chaotic-mess/

Conflicting messages from Georgia Power and airport personnel have added to the confusion about what has caused the power failure and when it will end. Furthermore, as hundreds of flights are canceled and thousands of passengers are rerouted, delays and cancelations are expected to spread to airports around the world.

Atlanta’s 11 Alive news said that power is gradually being restored to some areas of the building and that construction crews are arriving with portable lighting rigs to help passengers trying to leave the airport. The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is providing buses to help evacuate the airport.

CNN reported that a fire at a Georgia Power underground facility be to blame, but former Secretary of Transportation to President Barack Obama Anthony Foxx said it’s inexcusable that the airport did not have a redundant emergency power supply in case of an outage of this kind.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D) said at a press conference that there is no reason to believe at this time that the outage was caused deliberately.

Link: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/12/18/545971/greece-turkey-erdogan-assassinate

Greek newspaper To Vima reported on Sunday that the group of nine members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) had planned to kill Erdogan with rocket launchers, grenades and Molotov cocktails.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/military/201712171060082983-us-specops-record-2017-deployment/

US Special Operations troops, including Navy Seals and Army Green Berets, were deployed in 149 nations in 2017, a 150 percent jump from the administration of George W. Bush, and a modern record for shipping US military policy around the globe.

Link: http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=57730

The Philadelphia City Council voted 14-3 on Thursday to pass a bill allowing the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections to ban shop owners from protecting themselves and their employees with bulletproof plexiglass.

Philadelphia 8th District Councilwoman Cindy Bass, who sponsored the bill, said previously that having to see plexiglass represents an "indignity" to her constituents.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Cook_County_Commissioner_Asks_The_U.N._To_Send_Troops_To_Chicago_/62219/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin recently met with the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations during which he requested that the world governing body send troops onto the violence-plagued streets of Chicago. Boykin then went on to reveal that he is actually seeking to have the United Nations police the civilian population in Chicago.

After being asked by a reporter why he believes using UN troops to curb violence rather than actual American police would be a good idea, Boykin revealed that he does indeed want the requested troops to essentially become the police in Chicago.

“They have been able to help in places like Africa, where they have sent troops in, sent forces in, to help protect minority and vulnerable populations, so frankly I think the same can be said for here in Chicago,” said Boykin.