Chinese developer leads transformation of L.A.'s skyline

Source: LA Times

For decades, the sprawling six-acre Metropolis parcel in downtown Los Angeles sat barren as successive real estate busts derailed the promise of a $1-billion "city within a city."

Now, in an eye-rubbing spectacle, three towering cranes are working on the first phase of a hotel and a condominium tower, while construction has begun on two more condo towers for the second phase.

With the economy accelerating, the pledge made in the 1980s is finally being fulfilled by a feisty developer from China who is leading the transformation of downtown's skyline.

As chief executive of Chinese development firm Greenland USA, I Fei Chang is overseeing $6 billion worth of real estate development in the U.S., making her one of the biggest developers in the country.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-developer-chang-20150503-story.html#page=1

Baltimore Mayor Lifts Citywide Curfew

Source: ABC

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake today lifted the citywide curfew that was instituted after riots erupted Monday following the funeral of Freddie Gray.

Though many in the city have complained about the curfew, it has been mostly respected. Small groups of protesters have remained on the streets as the curfew went into effect each night, and there have been some arrests, but no violence.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said today he supports lifting the curfew.

"The mayor and I both talked and agreed we think it's time to get the community back to normal again," he said.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/baltimore-mayor-lifts-citywide-curfew/story?id=30769616

Power shifts to those who write giant checks, rather than collect many smaller ones.

In the wide-open, Wild West world of political fundraising spawned by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, a once-bright liberal star has dimmed a bit in the current presidential election cycle: The Hollywood bundler.

In the 1990s, a donor who rounded up, say, $50,000 in hard-money contributions from like-minded friends, or gave $100,000 of his or her own money to the Democratic National Committee ranked as a big player – and got a front-row seat – in Democratic politics.

In the gilded age of deep-pocketed conservative donors like Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and the Koch brothers – who can afford to give millions to super PACs backing a single candidate, if they choose – that’s no longer true, as some longtime donors active in Hollywood and New York now acknowledge.

To compete with her GOP rivals, Hillary Clinton will have to tap Democratic-friendly billionaires like George Soros, Tom Steyer and even Michael Bloomberg in the crunch of the general election campaign. Even celebrity-studded galas and concerts will presumably lose some of their allure.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/hollywood-bundlers-are-losing-the-spotlight-117565.html#ixzz3Z6Xh9zAK

bloomberg Republican as they come.

Watch the CNN Spin.

For all you hooked on the idiot box.

Classic juxtaposition exposing media lies with two videos. As if the reporter did not see what happened.

Bottles thrown at police or..

Anyone watching the fight?

Scientists warn of chemicals in pizza boxes, carpet care

Source: USA Today

A group of environmental scientists issued a warning Friday about commonly used chemicals known as PFASs.

The chemicals, which go by the longer names of polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, are found in everything from pizza boxes to carpet treatments, reports the New York Times.

"If you got a pastry with your coffee this morning, a PFAS substance probably even lined the waxy paper it was served on," writes Lynne Peeples at the Huffington Post. (In the case of the pizza boxes, the chemicals help prevent the boxes from getting soaked by grease.)

The warning came May 1 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, whose coverage included a statement signed by 200 scientists from 38 countries urging restrictions. (It's here, known as the Madrid Statement.)


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/05/02/scientists-warn-of-chemicals-in-pizza-boxes-carpet-care/26766547/

ISIS militants execute 600 Yezidis northern Iraq

On Friday the so-called Sharia Court of the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS) reportedly executed 600 hostages from the Yezidi community of Shingal (Sinjar) in the Talafar district in northern Iraq.

The group piled the bodies into the well of Alo Antar on al-Ayyadiya highway, local sources reported.

Shahin Shingali, a fighter in the ranks of the Peshmerga forces, stated to ARA News that since Friday the IS radicals transferred nearly 700 Yezidi hostages to Talafar.

“Without a direct intervention by the international community, Iraq will be witnessing more genocides against innocent people at the hands of the IS terrorists,” Shingali said.

http://aranews.net/2015/05/isis-militants-execute-600-yezidis-northern-iraq/

GoFundMe For Freddie Gray Officers Removed After 41 Minutes

The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police created a GoFundMe page for the six officers who were charged Friday in the death of Freddie Gray—but it lasted for less than an hour before being removed from the site.

The Fraternal Order of Police, a union representing Baltimore City police officers, set a fundraising goal of $600,000 to pay for the living expenses of the six officers, who were placed on unpaid suspension after they were charged in Gray’s death. In 41 minutes, the page raised $1,135.

It’s unclear whether GoFundMe deleted the fundraiser set up for the six officers, but the FOP posted on its Facebook page, “Apparently our GoFundMe account has been suspended with no explanation. We are working to find a new site for donations. Thank you!”

Vocativ previously revealed that GoFundMe has an interesting criteria for what types of causes it allows to raise money on its site. “‘Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes’” are prohibited by our terms,” a spokeswoman said for that article. Asked to comment on the removal of this campaign, a spokeswoman told Vocativ, “GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law.”

http://www.vocativ.com/news/189320/freddie-gray-gofundme-removed-baltimore-police-officers/

25% of Americans save no money for emergencies

Any good financial planner will generally tell you to set aside at least three to six months' living expenses for a rainy day. If you ever need this money, you'll need it fast, but isn't there somewhere better to keep it than your mattress? Here are a couple of options.

An emergency fund helps you pay bills such as your mortgage, utilities and groceries in the event you lose your job or become disabled, or to pay for an unexpected car or home repair, to name a few examples. You may need more than six months' expenses if you lose a hard-to-find job or your household relies on one income.

If you put off this financial necessity, you're not alone. More than one in four Americans save no money for emergencies, according to a recent Bankrate survey. About one in five people sock away enough to cover less than three months of expenses.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/05/02/adviceiq-investing-your-emergency-funds/26744677/

Rioting charge carries a maximum of life in prison in the state of Maryland

In a frightening example of the hypocrisy of the justice system, a Baltimore teen who turned himself in for smashing a police car window is being held on $500,000 bail and facing life in prison. This as the cops who arrested Freddie Gray are all walking free and still collecting their paychecks.

Allen Bullock, 18, was seen smashing a police car window with a traffic cone in an image that ran on the front page of the Baltimore Sun’s coverage of the uprising in the city this week. According to The Guardian, after being encouraged by his parents to turn himself in, he was charged with eight criminal counts including rioting and destruction of property.

Bullock’s step father, Maurice Hawkins, told his son that he feared the police would “find him, knock down our door and beat him,” if he didn’t turn himself in.

So he did. And it appears he is now being made an example of by law enforcement.

http://hellobeautiful.com/2015/04/30/baltimore-teen-facing-life-in-prison-after-turning-himself-in-for-smashing-cop-car-window/