North Korea issues fresh threat to U.S. Bases!

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said it would attack U.S. military bases on Japan and the Pacific island of Guam if provoked, a day after leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a mock drone strike on South Korea. The North also held an air raid drill on Thursday after accusing the United States of preparing a military strike using bombers that have overflown the Korean peninsula as part of drills between South Korean and U.S. forces. North Korea has stepped up its rhetoric in response to what it calls "hostile" drills between South Korea and the United States. It has also been angered by the imposition of fresh U.N. sanctions that followed its February 12 nuclear test. Separately, South Korea said a hacking attack on the servers of local broadcasters and banks on Wednesday originated from an IP address in China, raising suspicions the intrusion came from North Korea.

"The United States is advised not to forget that our precision target tools have within their range the Anderson Air Force base on Guam where the B-52 takes off, as well as the Japanese mainland where nuclear powered submarines are deployed and the navy bases on Okinawa," the North's supreme military command spokesman was quoted as saying by the KCNA news agency.  Japan and U.S. Pacific bases are in range of Pyongyang's medium-range missiles. It is not known if North Korea possesses drones, although a report on South Korea's Yonhap news agency last year said it had obtained 1970s-era U.S. target drones from Syria to develop into attack drones. "North Korea has strongly stepped up development of asymmetrical strategy with nuclear development and many types of ballistic missiles as well as a special forces of 200,000 strong."  MadOne

Drones Large and Small Coming to US

 

Most of the drones that have begun to appear in the skies above the U.S. homeland don't resemble the Predators or Reapers flown by the U.S. military and CIA above Afghanistan and Pakistan. Instead, these smaller versions of flying, unmanned vehicles almost rival the animal kingdom in their diversity. Government agencies such as NASA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operate aircraft-size military drones that take off from runways like airplanes. Labs in the United States have even built tiny drones that look like hummingbirds. But most drones resemble the radio-controlled aircraft and toy helicopters flown by hobbyists for decades, capable of taking off horizontally, vertically or by being thrown into the air like a trained falcon or hawk. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration does not plan to permit drones armed with weapons in U.S. civilian airspace, according to an official quoted by the Washington Times. But state agencies, sheriff's offices and universities have already found more widespread use for drones that carry cameras for taking photos or video from above. 

Draganfly Innovations builds small drones weighing less than 5 pounds that fly under the control of a human operator using two joysticks. The Canadian company has sold some drones to law enforcement for taking pictures or video of traffic accidents or crime scenes, as well as aiding SWAT teams preparing to storm a building or housing compound. FAA drone license applications tracked by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights organization, suggest many other possible uses. Some U.S. states have begun considering drones for checking on highway traffic conditions, inspecting bridges and fighting wildfires. U.S. corporations, such as FedEx, have already begun planning for the day when drones could deliver packages. Bird watchers accustomed to spotting a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows may someday spot similar groupings of drones. Such drone swarms will likely use advanced forms of today's artificial intelligence programs to coordinate their missions without precise human control, a future with possibilities both delightful and daunting. Tech News Daily

North Korea threatens South with 'final destruction'

  

GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea threatened South Korea with "final destruction" during a debate at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday, saying it could take further steps after a nuclear test last week. Jon's comments drew quick criticism from other nations, including South Korea, France, Germany and Britain, whose ambassador Joanne Adamson said such language was "completely inappropriate" and the discussion with North Korea was heading in the wrong direction. 

"In the 30 years of my career I've never heard anything like it and it seems to me that we are not speaking about something that is even admissible, we are speaking about a threat of the use of force that is prohibited by Article 2.4 of the United Nations charter," Catalina said. Since the North tested a nuclear bomb last week in defiance of U.N. resolutions, its southern neighbour has warned it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent. Pyongyang said the aim of the test was to bolster its defences given the hostility of the United States, which has led a push to impose sanctions on North Korea. "If the U.S. takes a hostile approach toward the DPRK to the last, rendering the situation complicated, it (North Korea) will be left with no option but to take the second and third stronger steps in succession," he said, without indicating what that might entail. North Korea has already told key ally China that it is prepared to stage one or two more tests this year to force the United States into diplomatic talks, a source with direct knowledge of the message told Reuters last week.

Impoverished and malnourished North Korea is one of the most heavily sanctioned states in the world. It is still technically at war with South Korea after a 1950-53 civil war ended in a mere truce.
Washington and its allies are believed to be pushing to tighten the noose around North Korea's financial transactions in a bid to starve its leadership of funding. Jon said last week's test was an act of self-defence against nuclear blackmail by the United States, which wanted to block North Korea's economic development and its fundamental rights. Jon said the United States had conducted most of the nuclear tests and satellite launches in history, and he described its pursuit of U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea as "a breach of international law and the height of double standards".

Neither Russia nor China, which are veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council, spoke at Tuesday's meeting in Geneva. Before its nuclear test, North Korea was already facing growing diplomatic pressure at the United Nations. The U.N. Human Rights Council is widely expected to order an inquiry next month into its leaders' responsibilities for crimes against humanity. MadOne

DHS Purchases 21.6 Million More Rounds of Ammunition

 

The Department of Homeland Security is set to purchase a further 21.6 million rounds of ammunition to add to the 1.6 billion bullets it has already obtained over the course of the last 10 months alone, figures which have stoked concerns that the federal agency is preparing for civil unrest. A solicitation posted yesterday on the Fed Bid website details how the bullets are required for the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico. The solicitation asks for 10 million pistol cartridge .40 caliber 165 Grain, jacketed Hollow point bullets (100 quantities of 100,000 rounds) and 10 million 9mm 115 grain jacketed hollow point bullets (100 quantities of 100,000 rounds). The document also lists a requirement for 1.6 million pistol cartridge 9mm ball bullets (40 quantities of 40,000 rounds).

An approximation of how many rounds of ammunition the DHS has now secured over the last 10 months stands at around 1.625 billion. In March 2012, ATK announced that they had agreed to provide the DHS with a maximum of 450 million bullets over four years, a story that prompted questions about why the feds were buying ammunition in such large quantities. To put that in perspective, during the height of active battle operations in Iraq, US soldiers used 5.5 million rounds of ammunition a month. Extrapolating the figures, the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years. 

While Americans are being browbeaten with rhetoric about the necessity to give up semi-automatic firearms in the name of preventing school shootings, the federal government is arming itself to the teeth with both ammunition and guns. Last September, the DHS purchased no less than 7,000 fully automatic assault rifles, labeling them “Personal Defense Weapons.” Power Your Mind. MadOne

Microsoft's Kinect test in Army Helicopter Cockpits

Kiowa Warrior

Motion-tracking game technology found in American living rooms has a shot at making its way into U.S. military helicopters. The Army envisions Microsoft's Kinect system as a low-cost solution for smarter cockpits that track what pilots see or do — opening the door for smarter war machines capable of responding quickly to human needs during combat. The Microsoft Kinect for Xbox can already recognize gestures, faces and voices under almost any ambient light conditions for about $150. Such off-the-shelf gaming technology looks like a bargain next to expensive military helmets that track a pilot's head movements or eye gaze based on infrared detectors or magnetic sensors. 


New technology from the gaming world has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of adding head tracking to conventional helicopters, as well as the ability to do body tracking and gesture recognition to support future intelligent cockpits. Such intelligent cockpits may feature "Minority Report" virtual controls and displays, automatically identify targets a pilot is seeing outside the cockpit, report on damage based on where a pilot looks, or even monitor a pilot's mental and physical health based on his or her motions. That futuristic vision starts with motion-tracking technology. 

Having cheaper and more capable motion-tracking technology could especially help military helicopters missing head-tracking systems, such as the Blackhawk, Kiowa Warrior and Chinook. But the same system could also end up helping soldiers inside ground vehicles or at work stations, as well as commercial airline pilots and civilian drivers. If it succeeds, the Army would only be the latest in a long line of people who have hacked into the Microsoft Kinect's cheap but powerful capabilities. Geeks have harnessed the Kinect's power to make virtual clothes-fitting rooms and rescue robots. Archaeologists have even turned the gaming device into a 3D scanner for exploring ancient cities and burial grounds. Technews Daily

EPA drones spy on farmers in Nebraska and Iowa

The Environmental Protection Agency has been accused of violating the privacy of cattle farmers in Nebraska and Iowa by using drones to spy on them. Last week, Nebraska’s congressional delegation submitted a joint letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson expressing concerns about the surveillance and questioning its legality. The EPA responded that the use of drones is legal and cost-effective. 

The surveillance has so far covered Region 7 (Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri), but has focused on Nebraska and Iowa because of the high concentration of livestock feeding operations in a watershed that has a history of contamination. “Nebraskans are rightfully skeptical of an agency which continues to unilaterally insert itself into the affairs of rural America,” The agency said that “courts, including the Supreme Court, have found similar types of flights to be legal (for example to take aerial photographs of a chemical manufacturing facility)” and that the EPA “would use such flights in appropriate instances to protect people and the environment from violations of the Clean Water Act”. So far, seven flights have taken place over Iowa, and nine over Nebraska. Yahoo / MadOne

Suicide bomber kills at least 96 soldiers in Yemen

A policeman collects evidence at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Sanaa, Yemen, May 21, 2012.

On Monday, a suicide bomber posing as a member of the Yemen military killed at least 96 people and wounded hundreds more--most if not all soldiers--in a blast in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. The soldiers were rehearsing for a military parade in Sabeen Square near the presidential palace, Yemeni officials said. According to Agence France-Press, the bomber, carrying explosives under his uniform, "blew himself up in the middle of an army battalion." According to AFP, as many as 300 wounded soldiers were being treated at seven area hospitals. An al-Qaida source claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the BBC.

"This is a real massacre," one soldier, Ahmed Sobhi, told the Associated Press. "There are piles of torn body parts, limbs and heads. This is unbelievable." According to CNN, top Yemen officials, including the country's defense minister, were at the scene but escaped unharmed. CNN said 101 soldiers were killed in the blast. The parade was to be part of a National Day of Unification celebration marking the 22nd anniversary of the May 22, 1990 union of North and South Yemen. According to AFP, it's unclear if Tuesday's parade will take place as planned. MadOne

Scientists warn of 'emergency on global scale'

Leading scientists on Thursday called on the upcoming Rio Summit to grapple with environmental ills that they said pointed to "a humanitarian emergency on a global scale." In a "State of the Planet" declaration issued after a four-day conference, the scientists said Earth was now facing unprecedented challenges, from water stress, pollution and species loss to spiralling demands for food.

"The continuing function of the Earth system as it has supported the wellbeing of human civilisation in recent centuries is at risk," said the statement issued at the "Planet Under Pressure" conference. "These threats risk intensifying economic, ecological and social crises, creating the potential for a humanitarian emergency on a global scale." "Climate change, the financial crisis and food, water and energy security threaten human wellbeing and civilisation as we know it."  "Climate change, the financial crisis and food, water and energy security threaten human wellbeing and civilisation as we know it."

These changes have brought stability and innovation but created a system vulnerable to sudden stress, as the global financial meltdown and surge in food prices had shown. Existing international arrrangements are not dealing quickly enough with current global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. It called for a "polycentric approach" for planetary stewardship, meaning a diverse partnership between local, national and regional governments that also includes business and grassroots groups. AFP

McDonald’s no longer using ‘pink slime’ chemical in hamburgers

McDonald's announced last week that, as of last August, is has stopped using ammonium hydroxide in the production of its hamburgers. MSNBC reports that the chemical, used in fertilizers, household cleaners and even homemade explosives, was also used to prepare McDonalds' hamburger meat. And while the announcement is making headlines, you may (or may not) want to know about some other unusual chemicals being used in the production of some of our most-popular foods: The International Business Times lists some other questionable chemicals showing up in our foods:

Propylene glycol: This chemical is very similar to ethylene glycol, a dangerous anti-freeze. This less-toxic cousin  prevents products from becoming too solid. Some ice creams have this  ingredient; otherwise you'd be eating ice.

Carmine: Commonly found in red food coloring, this chemical comes from crushed cochineal, small red beetles that burrow into cacti. Husks of the beetle are ground up and forms the basis for red coloring found in foods ranging from cranberry juice to M&Ms.

Shellac: Yes, this chemical used to finish wood products also gives some candies their sheen. It comes from the female Lac beetle.

L-cycsteine: This common dough enhancer comes from hair, feathers, hooves and bristles.

Lanolin (gum base): Next time you chew on gum, remember this. The goopiness of gum comes from lanolin, oils from sheep's wool that is also used  for vitamin D3 supplements.

Silicon dioxide: Nothing weird about eating sand, right? This anti-caking agent is found in many foods including shredded cheese and fast food chili.

The food industry uses ammonium hydroxide as an anti-microbial agent in meats, which allows McDonald's to use otherwise "inedible meat."

On his show, Jamie Oliver said of the meat treatment: "Basically we're taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest form for dogs and making it 'fit' for humans." Even more disturbing, St. Louis-based dietician Sarah Prochaska told NBC affiliate KSDK that because ammonium hydroxide is considered part of the "component in a production procedure" by the USDA, consumers may not know when the chemical is in their food. MadOne

Michelle Obama shines at South Korea state dinner

First Lady Michelle Obama debuted a gown created by Doo-Ri Chung the 38-year-old Korean-American designer at the White House state dinner.  The Doo.Ri one-shouldered purple gown with an embellished, belted waist, made a striking statement as the first couple prepared to enter the gala event in the East Room of the White House on the rainy evening. After tonight, Chung’s label Doo.Ri, will follow Jason Wu and Thakoon as the next big thing Mrs. O spins into gold. Chung, a New York-based designer known for her skillful drapery, began her career in 2001 in her family's dry cleaning store and developed into a go-to dressmaker for Eva Longoria, Rachel McAdams and Kristen Stewart—who wore a strawberry Doo.Ri design to "The Runaways" premiere.

But now that Michelle Obama's wearing her line, Chung's career is defined. MadOne  

Obama to propose $300 billion jobs package

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, facing waning confidence among Americans in his economic stewardship, plans some $300 billion in tax cuts and government spending as part of a job-creating package, U.S. media reported on Tuesday. The price tag of the proposed package, to be announced by Obama in a nationally televised speech to Congress on Thursday, would be offset by other cuts that the president would outline, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources. Bloomberg News said the plan would inject more than $300 billion into the economy next year through tax cuts, spending on infrastructure, and aid to state and local governments.

Obama's aides have refused to go public with the estimated cost of Obama's package or provide many specifics in advance, except to say that the proposals will have a "quick and positive" impact on boosting jobs at a time of stubbornly high U.S. unemployment. Republicans criticized Obama for not including them in discussions on the package before his big speech and indicated any jobs bills could face tough passage through Congress, where they control the House of Representatives. 

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Obama's job approval rating at a low of 44 percent, while an ABC News/ Washington Post poll found that six in 10 Americans now rate the president's job on the economy and jobs negatively. Obama must get unemployment down from levels currently above 9 percent to improve his chances of winning a second White House term in the November 2012 election.

U.S. Dollar to drop on S&P move

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar may fall and Treasury yields rise on Monday in response to the United States losing its top-tier credit rating from Standard & Poor's but any selling is likely to be tempered by the euro zone's escalating debt crisis. Equity markets' likely reaction was indicated by a drop of more than six percent on Sunday in Tel Aviv stocks, one of the first to open globally after S&P on Friday cut the U.S. long-term credit rating by a notch to AA-plus from AAA. 

Investors will be all the more likely to withdraw to safe havens, such as the Swiss franc, the yen and gold, if euro zone officials cannot stem concern that their debt crisis risks engulfing Italy, the bloc's third largest economy, whose government bond yields have soared to 14-year highs. "The real effects of this (U.S. credit rating downgrade) will take time to show through but a weaker U.S. dollar and marginally higher yields are likely," said Charles Diebel, a strategist at Lloyds Bank.

U.S. Loses Triple AAA Rating.

After a week that saw $2.5 trillion wiped off global stock markets, they are under pressure to show political leadership and reassure markets that Western governments have both the will and ability to reduce their huge and growing public debt loads.  Standard and Poor's deepened the urgency for action late on Friday by stripping the United States of its top-tier AAA credit rating, a move that over time could ripple through markets worldwide by pushing up borrowing costs and making it more difficult to secure a lasting recovery.

It cited the acrimonious debate in Washington on raising the debt ceiling and near political paralysis over the best way to reduce the its $14.3 trillion debt, which on the current trajectory could climb above 100 percent of U.S. national output this decade. S&P's one-notch downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating to AA-plus, while not totally unexpected, adds another level of uncertainty. Loss of gold-plated status for the world's benchmark interest rate risks pushing up borrowing costs on everything from car loans, mortgages and corporate debt to government bonds worldwide. 

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, took the world's economic superpower to task for allowing its fiscal house to get into such disarray. It also revived its calls for a new stable global reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar, gaining a sympathetic ear in the United Kingdom. "The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," China's official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary. Xinhua scorned the United States for a "debt addiction" and "short sighted" political wrangling. China, it said, "has every right now to demand the United States address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets." MadOne

UNLV student among 16 arrested in hacking roundup

A UNLV student was among 16 people arrested Tuesday in a nationwide roundup of suspected Internet hackers accused of attacking websites of several major U.S. companies. According to the FBI, Mercedes Renee Haefer, 20, also known by the aliases "No" and "MMMM," was part of the hacker group Anonymous that authorities allege coordinated Internet attacks on websites owned by PayPal, Amazon, Visa and Mastercard.

Haefer, a journalism and media studies student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer. She appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt in Las Vegas. He released the defendant on her own recognizance but ordered her to surrender her laptop computer. Her attorney, New York-based Stanley L. Cohen, said the charges were frivolous and his client will plead not guilty. Las Vegas Review Journal

FBI raids suspected Anonymous hackers in 10 states

Internet "hacktivist" group Anonymous was the target of a bevy of early morning raids conducted at homes in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio. FBI agents used search warrants to obtain computers and other electronics from the residences and arrested a total of 16 individuals with ages ranging from teens all the way to early 40s. Along with legal names, the indictment also notes screen names and internet monikers used by the group to communicate anonymously.

These arrests were just part of a total of 35 search warrants which were executed today as part of the ongoing investigation into the security-threatening hacking activities of the Anonymous collective. Among its various exploits, the brigade of cyber spies has been implicated in attacks on everyone from Sony to the federal government. The group has also executed web-based attacks on major credit card companies including Mastercard and Visa. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, today's arrests focused primarily on Anonymous members who waged a cyber war on PayPal. Anonymous was allegedly inspired to hack the online payment company in "Operation Avenge Assange" after Paypal refused to accept donations for Wikileaks, the well-known whistleblower site headed by Julian Assange. Anonymous' hacker cohorts, LulzSec, have taken aim at the CIA, as well as the Arizona Police Department in an effort to expose racial discrimination. Yesterday, LulzSec took credit for an attack on Rupert Murdoch's U.K. tabloid The Sun.

It wasn't immediately clear whether any of today's arrests also included members of LulzSec, but the group's Twitter feed appears to be as lively as ever. Today's actions clearly show that the federal government is no longer content to sit by while hackers have their run of the internet, but it's likely that Anonymous will respond in short order. MadOne

Army finds Mexico's biggest marijuana plantation

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Mexican soldiers have found the largest marijuana plantation ever detected in Mexico, a huge field covering almost 300 acres (120 hectares), the Defense Department said Thursday.

The plantation is four times larger than the previous record discovery by authorities at a ranch in northern Chihuahua state in 1984. The pot plants sheltered under black screen-cloth in a huge square on the floor of the Baja California desert, more than 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego. Army Gen. Alfonso Duarte said the screening, which is often used by regular farmers to protect crops from too much sun or heat, made it difficult to detect from the air what was growing underneath. It was only when soldiers on the ground reached the isolated area Tuesday that they found thousands of pot plants as high as 2.5 yards (meters) tall. The average height of the plants was about 1.5 yards (meters). Duarte said they were not yet ready for harvest.

Video of the plantation showed a sophisticated system of piped-in irrigation to support the plants, which Duarte said was fed by two wells. The plantation also included some wooden outbuildings, presumably for use by people caring for the plants. Troops will destroy the fields by burning them, Duarte said. While it's unknown how much of Mexican drug cartels' income comes from marijuana, recent discoveries suggest it remains a large-scale trade.

Wow that is a lot of weed!

No More Privacy: Smart Meters Are Surveillance Devices That Monitor The Behavior In Your Home

Have you heard about the new “smart meters” that are being installed in homes all across America?  Under the guise of “reducing greenhouse gas emissions” and “reducing energy bills”, utility companies all over the United States are forcing tens of millions of American families to accept sophisticated surveillance devices in their homes.  Currently, approximately 9 percentof all electric meters in the U.S. have been converted over to smart meters.  It is being projected that by 2012, the number of smart meters in use will rise to 52 million, and the federal government is spending a lot of money to help get these installed everywhere.  Eventually the goal is to have these smart meters in all of our homes and if that ever happened there would essentially be no more privacy.  Once installed, a smart meter monitors your home every single minute of every single day and it transmits very sophisticated data about your personal behavior back to the utility company. So can’t we just tell the utility companies that we don’t want these stupid things?



Unfortunately, in many areas of the country you can’t.  For example, one outraged resident of California contacted the utility company and was told that if he did not consent to taking a smart meter he would receive no service. So unless you want to live “off the grid”, what are you going to do?  Can any of us really survive without electricity these days? The sad truth is that these things are being forced upon us. InfoWars / MadOne

Unemployment rose to 9.2 percent as hiring stalls

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month. U.S. employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. The economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June, the Labor Department said Friday. And the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

The latest report offered stark evidence that the recovery will be painfully slow. It also raised doubts that the economy will rebound in the second half of the year after hitting a spring slump.

Businesses added just 57,000 jobs last month— the fewest in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs. Over the past eight months, federal, state and local governments have cut a combined 238,000 positions. Stock futures plunged after the report's release. "June's employment report doesn't have a single redeeming feature," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. "It's awful from start to finish." 

Unemployment has topped 8 percent for 29 months, the longest streak since the 1930s. It has never been so high so long after a recession ended. At the same point after the previous three recessions, unemployment averaged just 6.8 percent.

High court to rule on GPS tracking

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has added a couple of high-profile constitutional challenges to its lineup of cases for next term: One looking at governmental regulation of television content and the other dealing with the authority of police to use a GPS device to track a suspect's movements without a warrant. 

In the GPS case, the court will decide whether the police need a warrant before using the device to track a suspect's movements. The justices agreed to hear the Obama administration's appeal of a court ruling that favored a criminal defendant. The federal appeals court in Washington overturned a criminal conviction because the police had no warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car. Other appeals courts have ruled that search warrants aren't necessary for GPS tracking. The Justice Department argued that warrantless use of GPS devices does not violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. It also said prompt resolution of the divergent court opinions is critically important to law enforcement.

A three-judge panel of Democratic and Republican appointees unanimously threw out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones of Washington, D.C., a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. The Justice Department said GPS devices are especially useful in early stages of an investigation, when they can eliminate the use of time-consuming stakeouts as officers seek to gather evidence.

Used car buyers may not be told of auto recalls

WASHINGTON (AP) — Used car dealers may be selling cars and trucks that have been recalled but not repaired because manufacturers don't send them the same recall notifications that are sent to franchised dealers, said a study by a government watchdog. Even if used car dealers or franchised dealers know of a recall, there is no requirement that they tell prospective buyers or make the repairs before a sale, said the Government Accountability Office study released Wednesday. Nor does the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees auto safety, have the power to order dealers to make the repairs or to warn buyers.

The safety administration also lacks the authority to require automakers to inform used car dealers of recalls.
The situation "could pose a significant risk to the safety of millions of vehicle drivers and may have a negative impact on recall completion rates," the study said. "Many consumers may be unknowingly putting their lives at risk by purchasing a defective vehicle." More than 35 million used cars were sold in 2009, including 11 million sold by used car dealers. 

The study recommends the safety administration make its vehicle recall database searchable by VIN number and ask Congress to give it the authority to ensure car buyers are notified of recalls prior to sales.