Convicted killer William Morva has been executed, despite his mental disorder and appeals from the daughter of one of his victims to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to halt the execution.

The lethal injection was administered around 9:00pm local time, and Morva's death was declared about 15 minutes later.

Morva simply answered, "no," when asked if he had last words, according to witnesses, WTVR reported.

I don't know if you believe in signs, but I do. So when I heard that a very badly injured bald eagle had been found wandering the streets of Washington D.C. right before the 4th of July, that definitely got my attention. Today, bald eagles are actually quite rare. There are only about 5,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states, and it is especially uncommon to spot one in one of our major cities. When I was first told that a bald eagle has been rescued on the streets of our nation's capital right before the most patriotic day of the year, I was immediately skeptical. But this is actually a true story. The following was reported by NPR...

Just in time for the Fourth of July, animal rescue workers came to the aid of the national bird — a wounded bald eagle — on the streets of Washington, D.C. on Saturday.

The eagle was unable to fly, seemed lethargic and had labored breathing, the Humane Rescue Alliance posted to Facebook. The cause of the eagle's injury is unclear.

Matt Williams is with the group and wrote NPR in an email that the bird's condition appears to be stable and its prognosis "guarded," meaning it may recover but with lasting complications.

All the way back in 1782 the bald eagle was chosen to be the symbol of our nation. I have even incorporated it into my campaign logo. Other than the American flag, there is probably no other symbol that is more associated with our nation. And it was chosen as our national bird for very specific reasons...

Speaking to RT, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has suggested that the world would be a better place if it were run not by governments, which are detached from their citizens, but by city authorities who know the real needs of their people.

As world leaders gather for the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Livingstone said that governments are not always effective when it comes to tackling people's problems.

"I'm almost beginning to think that it's time to abolish governments and just let the world be run by large cities," Livingstone told RT on the sidelines of the Moscow Urban Forum, which provides a platform for international discussion on the development challenges of global megacities.

Legislation that would protect undocumented immigrants in California by severely limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities has been cleared by the State Assembly's Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), or the 'California Values Act,' intends to prevent California police from helping the "Trump Deportation Machine," said California State Senate leader Kevin de Leon, who introduced the measure.

"Under constitutional threats from the reckless Trump administration, SB 54 protects state and local law enforcement and resources necessary to keep our communities safe," De Leon said. "ICE is out to arrest and deport honest, hard-working parents who obey the laws and pay their taxes and owe allegiance to the red, white and blue."

The proposed legislation received support from the Los Angeles Police Department, which says it needs the immigrant community's trust to effectively investigate crimes, by ensuring witnesses and victims will not be arrested and deported just for cooperating with law enforcement.

Meanwhile, sheriff's unions and the California Police Chiefs Association oppose the bill, saying it would protect criminals.

A disturbing video was submitted to the Free Thought Project this week showing multiple NYPD police officers beating an unarmed and nonviolent man with their batons.

The video was taken by Ryan Rodriguez in April of this year. The man getting severely beaten by NYPD is a regular transient around Rodriguez' neighborhood and appears to have very clear issues with his mental health.

As the video begins, the unidentified man appears frightened and is backed into a corner by multiple officers.

"What'd I say?" asks the man, just before an officer delivers a haymaker blow to his knee cap with his baton.

"Get the fuck down!" screams the officer as he continues doling out the abuse.

All of the sudden, one of the baton blows hits the man directly on his head.

Their stories came out slowly, even hesitantly, at first. Then in a rush.

One female entrepreneur recounted how she had been propositioned by a Silicon Valley venture capitalist while seeking a job with him, which she did not land after rebuffing him. Another showed the increasingly suggestive messages she had received from a start-up investor. And one chief executive described how she had faced numerous sexist comments from an investor while raising money for her online community website.

What happened afterward was often just as disturbing, the women told The New York Times. Many times, the investors' firms and colleagues ignored or played down what had happened when the situations were brought to their attention. Saying anything, the women were warned, might lead to ostracism.

Now some of these female entrepreneurs have decided to take that risk. More than two dozen women in the technology start-up industry spoke to The Times in recent days about being sexually harassed. Ten of them named the investors involved, often providing corroborating messages and emails, and pointed to high-profile venture capitalists such as Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital and Dave McClure of 500 Startups.

A bomb squad was called to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts after a rented moving truck tested positive for "potentially explosive material" during a routine vehicle inspection. The base was partially evacuated in response.

Security guards discovered the potential danger during an inspection of the Big Foot Moving and Storage 18-wheeler at the Vandenberg Gate on state Route 2A around 9am local time on Thursday morning.

A bomb-sniffing K9 zeroed in on a crate in the truck, and a swab test found "explosives residue" on the box, a source told WHDH.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring about change. The story of Taylor Force is one such tragedy. A young American in the prime of his life was stabbed to death in an unnecessary, unprovoked act of terrorism while in Israel on a Vanderbilt University study program. Perhaps the only good that can come of such a dreadful event is in learning a lesson to ensure that it never happens again.

Our government wants to protect its citizens wherever they are in the world, so enacting some constructive legislation would be a smart move. Unfortunately, that's not what Congress is currently contemplating.

The U.S. Senate is debating a bill right now—the Taylor Force Act—that would prohibit foreign aid to the occupied Palestinian territories unless the Palestinian Authority ends stipends to the families of those who have been killed, injured, or imprisoned. Congressional reasoning is that the so-called "Martyrs' Fund" encourages terrorism.

How would you feel if a man walked into a business meeting wearing a skirt and 8 inch heels? 20 years ago that would have been absolutely unthinkable, but if one American designer has his way that may soon become the norm. When I saw photos on Facebook of Thom Browne's latest line for men, I have to admit that I was floored. If you have not seen what I am talking about yet, you can do so here and here. Personally, I believe that men should dress like men and women should dress like women, but much of society is moving in the exact opposite direction.


In recent years we have been hearing a lot about "gender fluidity", and this is yet another example of that phenomenon. The distinctions between men and women are being blurred, and there are many that would like to eliminate them altogether.

Given enough time, could we eventually get to the point where it is just as acceptable for men to wear skirts and heels as it is for women? Apparently Thom Browne wants us to have these kinds of conversations...

The new Israeli law giving police power to block websites that purportedly publish "criminal" or "offensive" content follows a similar blockade of various websites in Palestine by the 13-year president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas - all in the name of "law and order", "peace" and "fighting terrorism".

The equation is simple and has long been propagated by Israel through its hasbara apparatus: Palestinian armed resistance to Israel's oppression equals terror. Hasbara misinformation against Palestine and Palestinians on the Internet is legitimate paid work in Israel; Palestinian outlets speaking for the Palestinian struggle for liberation are illegitimate (criminal) forms of expression and activity:

Since before the "war on terrorism" in the West even began, the very concept of terrorism has been reduced by Israeli propagandists into an arena whereby Palestinian armed resistance by individuals or Hamas or any other militant Palestinian group is automatically regarded as terror. In a catch-22, non-violent Palestinian resistance, on the other hand, is dubbed as "incitement to terror". [Source: Israel's Illegitimate Tactics Against Palestinian Armed Resistance vs. Legitimate Global Security Concerns]