Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
American women gain the right to vote, as the U.S. Constitution’s 19th Amendment takes effect; Investigators pinpoint the cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; Aviator Charles Lindbergh dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Our entire life – consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.
Breakfast News
US stock market gains wiped out to close second volatile day on Wall Street
US stock markets continued to seesaw on Tuesday following a day of global sell-offs sparked by fears that China’s economic boom is slowing.
The Dow Jones industrial average initially appeared to be bouncing back from “Black Monday” – a day when it crashed more than 1,000 points before ending the day down 586 points.
By noon the Dow was up over 300 points as European markets closed up and investors reacted positively to China’s decision to cut interest rates. But the Dow closed 205 points down, or 1.29%. The S&P 500 ended the day down 25 points, 1.34%, and the Nasdaq closed 0.39% down.
The second day of drama came after investors continued to sell in China. The benchmark Shanghai composite index closed 7.6% lower on Tuesday following an 8.5% drop on Monday. Over three days the index has fallen 22%.
Federal judge’s order suspends use of two drugs in Mississippi executions
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state of Mississippi from using two drugs in executions.
US district judge Henry T Wingate issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday saying Mississippi officials cannot use pentobarbital or midazolam, two drugs used to render prisoners unconscious. Mississippi state law requires a three-drug process, with the sedative followed by a paralyzing agent and then a drug that stops an inmate’s heart.
Jim Craig, a lawyer for two inmates, said Wingate gave the order verbally Tuesday in a phone conference with him and other lawyers. Wingate is supposed to issue a written order, but while an online court docket reflects Wingate made the temporary restraining order, no written copy was yet available late Tuesday.
US and Mexico open first new rail link in more than a century
The United States and Mexico on Tuesday opened their first new rail link in more than a century as part of plans to update infrastructure carrying nearly $600bn a year in bilateral trade, officials said.
The West Rail Bypass International Bridge connecting Brownsville, Texas with the city of Matamoros across the border will largely carry freight, the US Commerce Department said.
Since the North American Free Trade Agreement was implemented over 20 years ago, trade with Mexico has increased six-fold and Mexico has become one of the biggest trading partners with the United States, US secretary of commerce Penny Pritzker said. [..] The West Rail project broke ground in December 2010 and was designed to expand regional transportation capacity, improve air quality and alleviate urban congestion by re-routing rail traffic out of the most populated areas in both border cities, the Commerce Department said.
The new crossing comes as prominent US politicians, mostly Republicans, have called for tightening controls along the border to prevent illicit goods from crossing and immigrants from entering the United States illegally.
Answering ‘Resistance From All Sides,’ Germany Moves to Ban GMO Crops
Germany on Monday became the latest country in the European Union to take a stand against genetically modified (GMO) crops in its food supply.
German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt told government officials that he will seek to implement the European Union’s “opt-out” rule to stop GMO crop cultivation in the country, including those varieties which may be approved by the EU, according to documents seen by Reuters this week.
Individual regions in Germany will have until September 11 to inform Schmidt if they wish to be included in the opt-out. Germany will then have until October 3 to tell the EU whether or not it will participate in the cultivation program.
Seismic Blasting in Pursuit of Oil Puts Whales at Risk, Report Confirms
A new report urges “extreme caution” in using seismic airguns to explore for fossil fuels underwater, saying it is “indisputable” that the practice has adverse impacts on Arctic marine life, especially whales.
Seismic testing involves a vessel towing an array of airguns that continuously blast loud, low frequency sound waves down through the water column and into the seabed with intervals as short as ten seconds. The operations can go on for weeks on end, depending on the size of area designated for the survey.
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Must Read Blog Posts
Obama Administration Would Rather Subject Gravely Ill Guantanamo Prisoner to More Torture Than Release Him Kevin Gosztola, ShadowPeoof
Coca-Cola To Stop Funding Fake Health Studies, No Word On Union Killings Dan Wright, ShadowProof
Almost One-Third Of Children Live In Poverty In ‘The Richest Nation In The World’ Kit O’Connell, ShadowProof
Giant Coal Company Bankruptcy Reveals Secret Ties to Climate Denial, GOP Dark Money Groups Lee Fang, The Intercept
Banks Get Credit for Helping the Poor – By Financing Their Evictions? David Dayen, The Intercept
AT&T Injecting Ads Into Its Wi-Fi Hotspot Data Streams Karl Bode, Techdirt
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