News Roundup (05/18/2016)

Items I came across recently in the news which interested me and thought maybe you too.

R U A Know-It-All? TAKE THE QUIZ

Reuters: Google faces record three billion euro EU antitrust fine-- "The European Union has accused Google of promoting its shopping service in Internet searches at the expense of rival services in a case that has dragged on since late 2010."


Daily Mail: U.S. Navy will soon take ownership of its largest and most technologically advanced warship after spending $4.4 billion to have it built-- "The ship features an angular shape that makes it 50 times more difficult to detect on radar; it's powered by electricity produced by turbines similar to those in a Boeing 777; and new guns are designed to pummel targets from nearly 100 miles away. Advanced automation will allow the big ship to operate with a much smaller crew than on current generation of destroyers."

Alternet: Former CIA Agent: US Assisted in the Capture of Nelson Mandela-- "A CIA agent played a key role in helping South Africa’s apartheid government arrest Nelson Mandela in 1962, initiating the anti-apartheid leader's nearly 28-year incarceration..."


POLITICSThe Intercept: Democratic Convention Hosted by Republican Donors, Anti-Obamacare Lobbyists-- "Some of the members of the 2016 Democratic National Convention Host Committee, whose job is to organize the logistics and events for the convention, are hardly even Democratic Party stalwarts, given that many have donated and raised thousands of dollars for Republican presidential and congressional candidates this cycle."

Crain's New York Business: Trump qualified for a tax break for New Yorkers making $500K or less-- "Trump's income is low enough to qualify for a New York state property-tax break that most high-rollers don't get... To be eligible for STAR, a married couple must have annual income of $500,000 or less... The city's Finance Department said it checks with New York state tax authorities every year to make sure applicants for the STAR benefit have income under $500,000.

Alternet: More Mexican Immigrants Are Returning to Mexico Than Coming to the U.S.-- "Late last year, the Pew Research Center reported findings indicating that between 2009 and 2014, approximately 870,000 Mexican nationals arrived in the states. During that same time frame, an estimated “1 million Mexicans and their families (including U.S.-born children) left the U.S. for Mexico."


Why is the US Constitution so hard to amend?

Jefferson: Should Laws Expire Every 19 Years?