Long ago, American colonists took a stance against a government that didn't represent the voice of the people. Fast forward to today and the recent TPP and TTIP treaties essentially silence the voice of the people once again. But is anyone paying attention?

The men, unhappy with the decisions that had been forced upon them by people they had never seen before, decided to do something. Waiting until sunset, they dressed up as Indians, painted their faces, and marched down to the harbor. Upon reaching it, they stormed a ship, grabbed the cargo and threw it overboard. Shouting into the night, "no taxation without representation!" the men made a defiant stance against what they felt was an overreaching government that only saw them as streams of income. In response, the government attempted to crack down on society in a desperate attempt to remain in control. It didn't work and today historians note that the event, which came to be known as the Boston Tea Party, was one of the first shots of the War for Independence.

Of course, if this event were to happen today, media would report it like this —"A local militia, believed to be a terrorist organization, attacked the property of private citizens today at our nation's busiest port. Although no one was injured in the attack, a large quantity of merchandise, considered to be valuable to its owners and loathsome to the perpetrators, was destroyed. The terrorists, dressed in disguise and apparently intoxicated, were able to escape into the night with the help of local citizens who harbor these fugitives and conceal their identities from the authorities. It is believed that the terrorist attack was a response to the policies enacted by the occupying country's government. Even stronger policies are anticipated by the local citizens."

Although these two tales tell the same story, perception is key. And when 90% of American media is controlled by 6 companies, the narrative is tightly controlled. Not for the benefit of the people, of course, but for the benefit of the government. But not even for the government so much any more, as the recent buzz surrounding the TPP and TTIP have revealed. In fact, numerous stories over the last couple of weeks have shed light on just who was behind the treaties, and it reads like a list of who's who in the world of big business.That's right. Corporations wrote the treaties and the politicians, which are elected by the people to represent the people, either didn't read the treaties at all, or chose to play buzzword bingo when publicly discussing the matter. Of course, as the Guardian reports, the tens of thousands of dollars that went to the "yea" votes helped to convince those fence sitters which direction the wind was blowing and more importantly, helped their future re-election campaigns. Addressing this issue, Mansur Gidfar, spokesman for the anti-corruption group Represent. US noted -"It's a rare thing for members of Congress to go against the money these days. They know exactly which special interests they need to keep happy if they want to fund their reelection campaigns or secure a future job as a lobbyist." He went on to ask - "How can we expect politicians who routinely receive campaign money, lucrative job offers, and lavish gifts from special interests to make impartial decisions that directly affect those same special interests?"

The Caribbean territory, whose residents are US citizens, is groaning under $73bn debt forcing it to ration water, close schools and watch its health system collapse.

Facing a crisis of monumental proportions at home, tens of thousands of people are fleeing a Caribbean island in search of a better life in the United States only to find hardship and struggle on American shores. Their stories sound like those of millions of migrants - poverty at home, where the economy lies in tatters - but they differ from millions of others: they're already American.

Unable to pay its $73bn debt, Puerto Rico has begun rationing water, closing schools and watching its healthcare system collapse and 45% of its people living in poverty. Emigration to the mainland has accelerated in recent years, activists say, and data shows that from 2003 to 2013 there was a population swing of more than 1.5 million people.

Mysterious spate of deaths rattle medical community

The recent death of a holistic practitioner in Florida is concerning residents and medical experts alike, as it is the third death of an alternative doctor in almost as many weeks.

On Monday morning, police found the body of Dr. Teresa Ann Sievers, 46, at her home in Bonita Springs after she failed to arrive at work. Dr. Sievers headed a health and wellness practice in Estero, Florida, which focuses on restorative healing through a variety of non-pharmaceutical treatments.

Detectives say they're treating the incident as a homicide, although they are not revealing to media how she was killed, nor if they think it was a random or targeted attack. "We don't know anything but that she was murdered," Sievers' sister, Annie Lisa, told The News-Press.

"Sievers was well-known in Southwest Florida for writing about women's health issues," reports The News-Press. "She wrote for several publications, including The News-Press, and appeared on local television."

Sievers' follows the death of two other prominent alternative doctors from Florida, Dr. Bruce Hedendal of Boca Raton, and Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, 60, who lived in Florida before relocating to Georgia.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders may be an underdog, but a massive crowd of 10,000 people gathered in Madison, Wisconsin to hear him speak - the largest crowd drawn by any 2016 presidential candidate.

Sanders, an independent US senator from Vermont who has described himself as a democratic socialist, has been dismissed as a low-tier candidate ever since first announcing his campaign for the presidency. However, while he may lack the high profile of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he is showing himself to be quite capable of energizing liberals.

This ability has helped him attract more people than other candidate so far, Democrat or Republican.

Just in time for the Fourth of July, states are declaring their independence from civil forfeiture.

Enabled by civil forfeiture laws, police can seize and keep property without the government ever filing criminal charges. Innocent Americans actually must prove their own innocence in court if they ever hope to regain their property. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies routinely seize property and pad their budgets with forfeiture revenue. Outlets as diverse as The New Yorker and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver have detailed this travesty of justice.

But thankfully, civil forfeiture's days may soon be numbered. Starting July 1, two major reforms from Montana and New Mexico will go into effect.

Earlier this year, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed a law that requires the government to first obtain a criminal conviction before taking and keeping someone's property through civil forfeiture. This legislation also shifts the burden of proof onto the government—where it belongs—when spouses, neighbors and other innocent owners try to get back property used by a suspect without their knowledge. Montana's civil forfeiture reforms are vital to restore due process and protect the property rights of the innocent.

A study polling American and emigrant adults found that 35 percent would consider leaving the US, according to TransferWise, an international money transfer company. The most popular reason for wanting to leave was to seek a better quality of life.

Despite the results of the survey, 59 percent said it was home. Another 58 percent said romantic and family ties were important reasons for staying in the US.

Another 22 percent in the survey cited democratic society as a reason to stay, and only 2 percent said low taxes. The online poll surveyed 2,000 American and emigrant adults.

The percentage of those willing to leave greatly increases for the millennial generation, with more than half of those aged 18 to 34, or 55 percent saying they would consider moving to another country for a higher paying job.

Oklahoma's highest court agreed energy companies can be sued for injuries to people and damage to property sustained during earthquakes.Plaintiffs in two lawsuits claim fracking companies are responsible for the earthquakes.

In a 7-0 decision, with two justices abstaining, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the plaintiff, Sandra Ladra, may seek damages from two energy companies for injuries sustained to her legs during an earthquake on November 5, 2011.

The quake shook the victim's hometown of Prague, causing rocks to fall from Ladra'a chimney onto her legs. It was the highest magnitude trembler the state has ever experienced, registering 5.7 on the Richter scale.

"The size of rock is about the size of your head, certainly, and a significant sized and heavy rock,"Scott Poynter, Ladra's attorney, told KFOR News Channel 4.

Poynter told the news channel Ladra is not looking for a payout, but the industry needs to stand up and pay for the problems they're causing. Ladra has been in pain since the incident and Poynter said she is going to have knee replacement surgery.

In the wake of protests over Freddie Gray, whose death from injuries sustained in police custody in April provoked unrest in several US cities, Baltimore has pledged to install cameras in police vans for a "more complete record of what occurs there."

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters on Wednesday that the city of Baltimore has been"working through a process that will place cameras with recording capabilities in the backs of all our police vans."

In fact, the van in which Freddie Gray was transported on April 12 did have a camera that the driver could use to monitor the passengers, but it was reportedly not working at the time.


Gray, 25, suffered a severed spine while being transported in the police vehicle and passed away on April 19, his tragic death striking unrest in Baltimore, Washington DC, Boston and New York, just to name a few cities. The next day after his death police officials said that Gray had actually requested an inhaler while in police custody, but admitted that calls for medical assistance were not made for over 40 minutes.

By the time Gray arrived at the hospital, he slipped into a coma and died. On top of that, according to Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Gray was not secured in the van with a seatbelt, which is against police regulations. He was handcuffed instead and placed in leg irons. This led to his injuries most likely caused by a sudden slowing of the police van, the investigation has found. During one of the stops police officers checked on Gray only to find that he was unresponsive, but failed to take any actions. Gray's death has been declared a homicide by the state attorney.

More than 5,000 people in eastern Tennessee have been evacuated after a freight train carrying "highly flammable and toxic gas" derailed and caught fire on Thursday morning.

Seven firefighters have been taken to hospital after breathing in fumes from the blaze, while a 1-mile evacuation zone has been put in place around where the train came off the tracks.

"They are receiving treatment in the emergency room at Blount Memorial Hospital. At the time, some of them were pretty close to the scene of the derailment, while others were knocking on doors and evacuating residents," said a Blount County Sheriff's spokeswoman, Marian O'Briant who was speaking to NBC News.

Officials have put the number evacuated at 5,000; however, other sources are saying the figure is nearer to 1,200.

Over 260,000 Austrians have signed a petition calling for the EU exit for the country, and now the Austrian parliament must discuss a referendum on the issue.

Overall, the 261,159 people who signed the petition represent 4.12 percent of the electorate. The petition was most popular in the regions of Lower Austria (where 5.18 percent of potential voters signed it) and in Carinthia (4.85 percent).

The threshold for calling a debate on a potential referendum is 100,000 people.

The petition was launched by 66-year-old retired translator Inge Rauscher, who composed a similar petition in 2000. On that occasion, it was signed by 3.35 percent of the electorate.