Iranian dissidents have long suspected that the country's Islamist regime has used the cover of its not-so-covert war with Israel to crack down on internal opponents, and that a leading Iranian nuclear scientist whose death was blamed on Mossad might really have been killed by his own government. Now a prominent opposition blogger based in London says that discrepancies in the recent trial and execution of the "Israeli spy" officially charged with killing scientist Masoud Ali Mohammadi are yet more evidence that Iranian intelligence agents may have been the real assassins. Mohammadi, a nuclear physicist, died in January 2010 when a motorcycle parked outside his house was detonated by remote control when he walked past. PHOTOS of Covert War: Iran vs. the West? A half ... Continue reading →
Just six months after issuing its latest warning about chicken jerky dog treats made in China, the Food and Drug Administration confirms it has logged more than 900 complaints from pet owners who say their dogs either were sickened or died after eating the treats. The number of complaints has nearly doubled since the story was first reported by ABC News in March. The FDA says its investigation is ongoing and that it continues to test samples of the popular treats, which dog owners across the country say have caused kidney failure in their pets, resulting in severe illness or death. PHOTOS of dogs who allegedly died after eating Chinese jerky treats. Consumers have largely blamed two brands for the reported illnesses. Waggin' Train and ... Continue reading →
The Pakistani doctor who aided American intelligence in its mission to kill Osama bin Laden has been convicted of high treason in his home country and sentenced to 33 years in prison plus a fine, Pakistani officials said today. Shakil Afridi ran a vaccination program on behalf of the CIA near the al Qaeda leader's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in an attempt to collect DNA from bin Laden's relatives and verify that America's most wanted terrorist was indeed in the compound. On May 2, 2011, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs raided the compound and killed bin Laden. Afridi's role, first reported by the New York Times in July 2011, was publicly confirmed by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in January when he told CBS ... Continue reading →
One of the leading trainers in the famed Tennessee Walking Horse industry admitted today that he abused horses under his care to enhance their performance, the latest step in a case that has renewed controversy over the treatment of animals in the sport. Jackie McConnell, 60, pleaded guilty to one federal count related to the conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act, a week after an ABC News "Nightline" investigation aired undercover video made by the Humane Society of the United States that showed McConnell and his employees beating horses with wooden sticks and shocking them with electric cattle prods. In another scene, McConnell oversees his employees as they apply caustic chemicals to the ankles of the horses and then wrap them with plastic wrap ... Continue reading →
Counterfeit electronic parts from China are "flooding" into critical U.S. military systems, including special operations helicopters and surveillance planes, and are putting the nation's troops at risk, according to a new U.S. Senate committee report. A year-long investigation conducted by the Senate Armed Services Committee found more than one million suspected counterfeit parts made their way into the Department of Defense's supply chain and were bound for use by "critical" military systems, according to the 70-plus-page document released Monday. In addition to Navy helicopters and surveillance planes, the parts were slated to be put into the Air Force's newest cargo planes. "The failure of a single electronic part can leave a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine vulnerable at the worst possible time," the report says. ... Continue reading →
Authorities have arrested an alleged Zetas drug cartel leader nicknamed "El Loco," AKA the Fool or the Crazy One, on charges that he dumped 49 headless bodies on a highway outside Monterrey, Mexico. When the Mexican Army came to arrest Daniel Elizondo Jesus Ramirez, say authorities, Ramirez attempted to elude capture by shooting and troops and throwing a fragmentation grenade. Zetas commanders nicknamed The Shrimp and The Speaker have also been linked to the body dump, but officials have not yet apprehended them. The mutilated bodies of 43 men and six women were found near Cadereyta, Mexico on May 13. Though the condition of the bodies made it difficult to identify any of them, some physical features and tattoos indicated that they may have been ... Continue reading →
More than four tons of marijuana – reportedly worth more than $3 million -- was found floating listlessly off the coast of Southern California with no suspected owners in sight, authorities said. A boater spotted the 180 bales of pot, wrapped in plastic, bobbing about 15 miles from the coastal town of Dana Point, Calif. just after noon Sunday, officials said. The Orange County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Coast Guard both sent out boats to recover the 8,068 pound stash, which was then turned over the U.S. Border Patrol. U.S. Border Patrol agent Scott Simon told ABC News that the incident is currently under investigation and said it's still a mystery as to how the pot got there. Another Border Patrol official, Michael Jimenez, ... Continue reading →
An al Qaeda affiliate has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 90 soldiers and injured hundreds more in Yemen's capital city today, on the eve of the nation's unification holiday. Yemeni officials suspect a suicide bomber dressed in a military uniform set off the explosives during a large military parade rehearsal in Sanaa's Sabeen Square, according to Mohammad Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in the America. Yemen's defense ministry said that, at latest count, 90 soldiers had been killed, but the death toll could continue to rise. A spokesperson for the al Qaeda offshoot Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a phone call to ABC News that the bombing was retaliation for the Yemeni army's attacks ... Continue reading →
