Metha Is Back With A Vengeance

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that opioid-related deaths are starting to plateau, officials fret a surge in methamphetamine-related deaths could contribute to the next leg up in the American drug overdose crisis.

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There were 1,854 meth-related deaths reported in 2010. By 2017, more than 10,300 deaths were linked to meth and or chemically-similar psychostimulants, which is a 550% jump from 2010.

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The DEA told the Journal that their drug-tracking system recorded 347,807 law-enforcement meth seizures submitted to labs in 2017, a 118% increase from 2010. The recent inflow of meth into the U.S. has made it more affordable and easily accessible, the agency warns.

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Officials say Mexican cartels are shipping more meth than ever into the country, mostly through ports of entry in hidden vehicle compartments.

“They’re flooding it through tunnels, they’re flooding it through ports of entry, they’re flooding it between ports of entry,” said Doug Coleman, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Phoenix office.

 New Hampshire is one of the states where meth is becoming more common, said Jon DeLena, second-in-command at the DEA’s New England office.

“Everybody’s biggest fear is what’s it going to look like if meth hits us like fentanyl did,” he said.

People struggling with opioid addictions often use meth, said Silvana Mazzella, associate executive director at Prevention Point Philadelphia, a nonprofit.

“People are getting exposed to it and coming to like it and need it,” said Ms. Mazzella, whose group provides harm-reduction services from its headquarters in Kensington, the Philadelphia neighborhood known for its longstanding opioid problem.

On the West Coast, authorities in San Francisco are not just battling record homelessness, but also an alarming increase in meth overdoses. “Without more effective interventions, mentally ill and meth-addicted individuals will continue deteriorating on our sidewalks, in our emergency rooms and in our jails,” city supervisor Rafael Mandelman said in a press release.

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Meth is also a concern in dying Rust Belt states, more specifically, in the Akron, Ohio metropolitan area, said Sally Longstreth Fluck, clinical director for Oriana House, a nonprofit that provides substance-abuse services for correctional facilities.

In 2006, Congress passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act to address the out of control crisis. In 2018, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. Now, Washington could be back to the drawing board, announcing, yet, another crisis, the return of meth.

From one drug crisis to another, the slow death of the middle class has been a direct effect of flawed monetary policy and the financialization of the American economy, which has driven wealth inequality to levels never seen before in modern time. As long as the wealth inequality gap remains wide, the drug overdose crisis will only expand. The country is imploding from within.

Leaked Document REVEALS EU’s ‘War Games’ to Oust British PM May

from Sputnik News: The leak comes after UK Prime Minister Theresa May held emergency talks with the Northern Ireland-based Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in a bid to save her beleaguered Brexit deal before a third Commons vote on the package takes place next Tuesday. The European Union is war-gaming for the ouster of British Prime Minister Theresa […]

The post Leaked Document REVEALS EU’s ‘War Games’ to Oust British PM May appeared first on SGT Report.

Shelter-In-Place, Close Air Vents Order Given As “Uncontrolled” Chemical Fire Rages In Houston Area

A petrochemical terminal is on fire at an oil storage facility in Deer Park, Texas just outside of Houston and has been raging throughout the day Sunday. City officials have warned residents to shelter in place and further advised them to close air ventilation systems in their homes and close all windows.

As of 4:30pm central local reports said the fire remains “uncontrolled” and expanded the extent of the shelter in place order. 

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Image source: The Houston Chronicle 

“City of Deer Park issuing SHELTER-IN-PLACE emergency in Deer Park,” the city wrote in a tweet at Sunday morning. “Please take immediate action and seek shelter,” multiple warnings directed.

In a follow-up warning issued in the afternoon the city said, “Residents are asked to remain sheltered and avoid going outdoors if at all possible. Community air monitoring is being conducted and additional updates will be provided as they become available.”

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Still frame of local news coverage at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park.

Nearby Pasadena also told residents that Harris County Pollution Control was conducing air quality monitoring tests of the area, and cautioned residents to stay indoors if at all possible.

Firefighters and emergency response crews battled the fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

According to the Associated Press:

Harris County officials say the fire started about 10 a.m. at the terminal that stores petrochemical liquids and gases, including fuel oil and bunker oil. The company’s website says the terminal has a storage capacity of 13.1 million barrels.

It is the second such petrochemical facility to trigger an area emergency in as many days, per the AP

The fire is the second in as many days at a Houston-area petrochemical facility. A fire at an ExxonMobil plant in nearby Baytown that broke out Saturday afternoon has been contained. Company officials say no injuries were reported.

Area traffic was gridlocked during the ongoing emergency as major State Highway 225 was closed throughout Sunday afternoon in both directions near the facility. 

According to local reports, the chemical tanks that caught fire contain a highly flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture called naphtha, which is often used as a raw material for production and conversion to gasoline.

Naphtha is classified as “Extremely flammable” and a dangerous irritant to humans if encountered in “high vapor concentration”.

According to its chemical safety fact sheet it is “Irritating to eyes and respiratory system. Affects central nervous system. Harmful or fatal if swallowed. Aspiration Hazard.”

As of late afternoon southeast Houston area residents were still being warned of the potential chemical hazard due to the petrochemical fire. 

developing…

BREAKING: Attorney General Bill Barr Defends President Trump in Oval Office “Your Declaration of Border Emergency is CLEARLY AUTHORIZED” (VIDEO)

by Jim Hoft, The Gateway Pundit: President Trump signed his first presidential veto on Friday in the Oval office. Several Border Angel parents joined President Trump during the signing to kill the congressional bill blocking the president’s emergency declaration. Despite the tens of thousands of illegal aliens crossing into America each month, the tons of […]

The post BREAKING: Attorney General Bill Barr Defends President Trump in Oval Office “Your Declaration of Border Emergency is CLEARLY AUTHORIZED” (VIDEO) appeared first on SGT Report.

Russian space rocket lifts off with astronauts who survived rocket failure

March 14, 2019

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian-made Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, carrying three astronauts into space, two of whom survived a mid-air rocket failure in October.

The Soyuz MS-12 took off at 1914 GMT, as planned, and is due to bring Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin and U.S. astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch to the International Space Station around eight hours later.

For Ovchinin and Hague, it is the first flight since an emergency landing two minutes after they blasted off on Oct. 11, 2018.

An investigation showed then that the abortive launch was caused by a sensor damaged during the rocket’s assembly at the cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This week, Ovchinin and Hague said they were confident this time about reaching the International Space Station, though they said a small fault had been discovered on their rocket during final checks.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

BOMBSHELL: Did Wise food company just turn over its entire list of emergency food customers to the U.S. government?

(Natural News) Wise Company, producer of emergency and storable foods, is facing a class action lawsuit for “unlawful, unfair, and deceptive advertising and business practices.” As it turns out, one cannot actually survive on Wise’s products for the advertised length of time. Now, a new report from The Daily Sheeple alleges that in addition to faulty…

Are You Financially Prepared? 8 Common Emergencies and What They Cost

by Dagny Taggart, The Organic Prepper: Are you financially prepared for a major emergency? Most Americans aren’t, according to a new report. Personal finance site GOBankingRates estimated the costs to recover from eight of the most common disasters, as well as how much you should have saved in an emergency fund to deal with each one. Here are 8 […]

The post Are You Financially Prepared? 8 Common Emergencies and What They Cost appeared first on SGT Report.

Are You Financially Prepared? 8 Common Emergencies and What They Cost

by Dagny Taggart, The Organic Prepper: Are you financially prepared for a major emergency? Most Americans aren’t, according to a new report. Personal finance site GOBankingRates estimated the costs to recover from eight of the most common disasters, as well as how much you should have saved in an emergency fund to deal with each one. Here are 8 […]

The post Are You Financially Prepared? 8 Common Emergencies and What They Cost appeared first on SGT Report.

LOGGING OFF Mark Zuckerberg ‘has secret panic chute leading to car park’ underneath his Facebook conference room for emergency escapes

The billionaire has a bullet proof conference room

Source: The Sun

FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg is rumoured to have a secret ‘panic chute’ in his conference room which he can use to flee the building as quickly as possible.

Last year, the security plan for Zuckerberg and his family cost Facebook $10 million(£8 million) – as new details about the billionaire’s safeguarding emerge.

Business Insider revealed these ‘panic chute’ rumours when reporting on Zuckerberg’s round-the-clock executive protection.

More than 70 people are now protected by an executive security team at Facebook, which is led by former US Secret Service special agent Jill Leavens Jones.

Due to Zuckerberg’s notoriety and having over 100 million followers on Facebook alone, he faces severe threats on a regular basis.

These threats include people threatening to kill him numerous times a week and stalkers who declare their undying love or harbour dangerous vendettas against the billionaire.

Zuckerberg actually works at a regular desk on an open plan floor at Facebook HQ but is said to always be surrounded by undercover security who pose as software engineers.

The Facebook office is situated above the company car park, but it is impossible to directly park a car underneath the CEO’s desk because of the threat of car bombs.

Zuckerberg also has access to a large glass-walled conference room that is near his desk.

This conference room is already known to be bullet-proof and features a panic button, but rumours among Facebook employees that it also contains a ‘panic chute’ have never actually been confirmed.

Facebook have declined to comment on the potential escape route, but one source said it leads to the car park so that the tech billionaire can be evacuated quickly.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg also has 24/7 protection due to similar threats and stalkers.

Their stalkers are referred to as ‘BOLOs’ which is short for Be On the Look Out and these BOLOs are banned from all Facebook property.

If these stalkers use Facebook or other apps owned by Zuckerberg then his security team may secretly use data from the apps to map a stalker’s location.

No one is allowed to take unauthorised photos of Zuckerberg or his office at Facebook HQ and any unsolicited gifts will not be opened by him.

Zuckerberg isn’t the only tech billionaire to require such high levels of security.

In 1998, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had a cream pie thrown at his face.

Facebook has been caught up in yet another privacy blunder, after a major Messenger bug revealed who you had been chatting to.

Facebook Messenger has a secret “dark mode” that you can unlock by sending the moon emoji.

The social media giant now lets you unsend embarrassing Messenger texts, but you only have 10 minutes to hit delete.

How would you feel if you had to have 24/7 security? Let us know in the comments…

WISE FOOD STORAGE TURNS OVER PURCHASE RECORDS TO GOVERNMENT AS PART OF SHOCKING CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT

from The Daily Sheeple: A class action lawsuit against Wise Company, a survival and emergency food storage company, was filed on February 15, 2017 for “unlawful, unfair, and deceptive advertising and business practices.” Last year, the company agreed to settle the suit, and is expected to announce the settlement on its website by the end of […]

The post WISE FOOD STORAGE TURNS OVER PURCHASE RECORDS TO GOVERNMENT AS PART OF SHOCKING CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT appeared first on SGT Report.

A guide to making your own dental emergency kit

(Natural News) Dental care is essential for your overall health. When SHTF, you can take care of your teeth by keeping dental emergency kits. (h/t to SurvivalSullivan.com.) Post-SHTF dental care In a normal situation, dental emergencies are more painful than they are medically serious. However, when SHTF you need to be able to handle minor dental…

This Winter Survival Skill Saved Two Women Lost in the Mountains

This article was originally published by Tess Pennington at Ready Nutrition

Emergencies happen when we least expect them, and as two women recently found out, when you plan for the worst, your odds of survival increase.

A survival story made headlines recently about two women who lost their way in the Sierra Nevada mountains over President’s Day Weekend. The two became disoriented in the snow and lost their way while cross-country skiing and spent two days in harsh winter elements before they were able to notify relatives that they were lost, and the relatives then called 911. Emergency responders are now claiming they survived subzero temperatures from knowing how to make a winter survival shelter.

Image Source: Mountain Democrat

In the article:

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Almos said they received the call about the women’s distress at midnight on Saturday. On Sunday they did a “hasty search” but all attempts were failing due to conditions, Almos said that even snowmobiles and a snow cat couldn’t navigate in the deep snow. “We even contemplated sending a drone,” he said, but there was a blizzard. “It’s tough to even send people out there due to the conditions.”

Fortunately, the women knew enough to build a snow cave in the heavy snow and were able to survive Saturday night when temperatures dropped below freezing.

….

Jared Boothe, a flight officer/paramedic with the California Highway Patrol’s Valley Division Air Operations said the helicopter crew spotted the women around 9:30 a.m. on Monday. “If they hadn’t had the skill set and experience to build a snow cave, it likely would have been a fatal event as temperatures were reported to be a minus 8 degrees without considering wind chill,” Boothe said. “If they had sat out in the open, they likely wouldn’t have made it out.”

Navigating in the Snow

It is easy to become disoriented in a snowy landscape. In a previous article about navigating the snow, the writer states it’s more difficult than one would think. “First, with snow blanketing the landscape, the appearance of the terrain is changed. Secondly, the landscape is also physically altered: it is a different thing to walk across six inches to several feet of snow. Right now, where I live, I have almost three feet of snow on the ground. The winter weather conditions are another item: it’s a far cry from a summer stroll when you walk into a cold wind that is throwing sleet right into your face in the middle of February.” He emphasizes knowing the terrain and pace count is the best way to navigate in a wintry area.

While it should go without saying, dress appropriately for winter conditions. You never know when you will find yourself staring down the business end of an emergency situation. “Pick up a good pair of goggles that do not fog up, and appropriate shielding for the face. Make sure you’re dressed in all-weather to combat the weather. I recommend Gore-Tex from head to toe.  A GPS compass will help, but here it is important to rely on the basics because batteries do die, electronics can be fouled up by extremes in weather and temperature, and it’s always best to rely on the “primitive” and skills.” Try this compass instead.

Other lightweight tools to keep in mind are:

How a Snow Cave Will Protect You

If you find yourself in a situation like the women skiers who lost their way, learn from their survival story and teach yourself essential winter skills. A snow cave or a quinzee will protect you from the elements and is perfect for areas where snow is not too deep and has powdery snow in order to form correctly. This snow shelter uses the powdery snow which will pack and bond together so that it is easier to hollow out and form a shelter. A properly made snow cave can be 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer inside, even when outside temperatures are −40 °C (−40 °F).

A snow cave is constructed by excavating snow so that the tunnel entrance is below the main space to retain warm air. If made correctly, your body heat will insulate and heat the inside of the cave and save your life.

The video provides step-by-step instructions. If you do not have a shovel on hand, look for makeshift tools like a flat rock or a split piece of wood.

Keep These Winter Shelter Tips in Mind

  • If you can face your shelter towards the east you will be able to prevent heat loss from prevailing winds and storms coming into your shelter.
  • Protect yourself from the elements by using branches, sticks, tarps or whatever you have available. Pine branches are great for wind-proofing your shelter and preventing heat loss from the ground.
  • Body heat can quickly escape if you do not have a ground insulator. If you can make your bedding area off the ground, you will be able to conserve more body heat. Consider pine needles, leaves, spruce boughs and/or branches, or even building up the snow around your primitive shelter.
  • Dehydration in cold climates can be a major risk when outdoors. Excessive perspiration, heavy clothing, and increased respiratory fluid loss are other factors that contribute to dehydration in cold climates. For example, when you can see your own breath, that’s actually water vapor that your body is losing. The colder the temperature and the more intense the exercise, the more vapor you lose when you breathe.
  • Take into consideration your energy output on building the shelter versus the protection of the shelter. This is labor intensive so be mindful of how much time it is taking to ensure you are not overexposed to the winter elements. Being exposed to the elements longer than three hours could be life-threatening.

Start training for winter survival emergencies with some basic shelters and then move into more advanced. Knowing these skills could save your life!

Additional Reading:

How To Build a Snow Cave

Quinzee Building

A Step-By-Step Guide To Prepare You For Any Disaster

A Green Beret’s Guide To Building an Emergency Winter Shelter


The Prepper's Blueprint

Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.

Tess is also the author of the highly rated Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals. 

Visit her website at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.

As The Perfect Storm Approaches, Most Americans Are Partying Instead Of Preparing

I can’t think of a time when Americans were more apathetic about getting prepared, and yet this is exactly the time when the urgency to get prepared should be at the highest.  Earlier today, my wife Meranda and I were discussing the fact that every single element of “the perfect storm” is coming together just as we had anticipated.  One by one, the pieces are all falling into place, and I share the most recent things that my research has uncovered with all of you on a daily basis.  Unfortunately, most Americans are absolutely convinced that there is no reason to get prepared for hard times because everything is going to be just great.  In America today, most people either believe that the future is going to be totally wonderful or that the future will be totally wonderful once we get rid of Trump.  Because so many of us have adopted one of these false narratives, most Americans are partying instead of preparing, and that is going to mean big trouble when things really start going haywire.

Are you familiar with “the rule of three”?  I just looked it up on Google, and this is how it is defined…

“You can survive for 3 Minutes without air (oxygen) or in icy water. You can survive for 3 Hours without shelter in a harsh environment (unless in icy water) You can survive for 3 Days without water (if sheltered from a harsh environment) You can survive for 3 Weeks without food (if you have water and shelter)”

Of course these numbers are not exact.  For example, many have gone without food for more than 3 weeks without serious problems.  But in general, this is a pretty good guideline for survival.

Sadly, if a major emergency were to hit this country tonight, most Americans would be completely unprepared when it comes to even the most basic essentials.  In fact, one survey found that only 39 percent of Americans have any sort of an “emergency kit” whatsoever…

When it comes to being prepared for an emergency, 39% say they have an emergency kit, while another 39% have a non-perishable food stock. A little less than one-third (28%) of people have stockpiles of water, and one in four people (25%) have an evacuation plan.

Of those who have an emergency kit, the most common items to have in the kit are: a first-aid kit (86%), flashlights or other light sources (83%), food (65%), water (63%), and blankets (62%).

Those are depressingly low numbers.

So what are all of those people going to do when things hit the fan and the government is not there to rescue them?

Needless to say, a lot of people will really freak out when they can’t get what they need.

But as long as things are relatively “normal”, this astounding lack of preparation will not be a problem.  And right now, Americans are acting as if things will be “normal” for the foreseeable future.  In fact, most of us are partying like it’s 1999 all over again.  According to CNBC, U.S. consumer debt just surpassed the four trillion dollar mark for the first time ever…

As of this month, outstanding consumer debt exceeded $4 trillion for the first time, according to the Federal Reserve.

Relatively strong holiday spending, particularly in November, and increasing credit card debt added more than $41 billion in outstanding balances at the end of 2018, according to LendingTree, a loan comparison website, which analyzed the data from the Fed.

We are spending money as if there is no tomorrow, and that would be fine if tomorrow never arrived.

Of course we really shouldn’t be spending money so wildly anyway, because many of us are already completely drowning in debt.  For example, auto loan delinquencies are already far higher than they were during the peak of the last recession.  The following comes from NBC News

At least 7 million Americans were in serious delinquency on their car loan — 90 or more days behind — at the end of 2018, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

That’s 1 million more than at the end of 2010, after the recession.

And student loan delinquencies also just shot up to the highest level ever.  We have never seen anything like this before in modern American history, and yet the party continues to roll on.

For now.

Unfortunately, all parties eventually come to an end, and the end of this one is going to be particularly painful.

When disaster strikes, most Americans are going to be out of resources very, very rapidly.  One survey found that 78 percent of all American workers are living paycheck to paycheck.  That number is a little higher than other figures that I have seen, but everyone agrees that a solid majority of the country is barely scraping by each month.

When things get really bad, I honestly don’t know how most people are going to make it.

A number of years ago, a survey asked Americans how long they thought they would survive if the electrical grid went down for an extended period of time.

Nearly 75 percent said that they would be dead before the two month mark.

Hopefully you are more resourceful than that.  But without a doubt all of us are going to stand a better chance of surviving what is ahead if we make some basic preparations.  It’s isn’t rocket science, but if you choose to do nothing because you have blind faith in the system, then you and your entire family could find yourselves in a world of hurt when things start getting really crazy out there.

If we had made different choices as a nation, we could have had a very different future.

Sadly, our self-destructive behavior continues to get even worse, and a day of reckoning for America is fast approaching.

Get Prepared NowAbout the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post As The Perfect Storm Approaches, Most Americans Are Partying Instead Of Preparing appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Boeing 767 Cargo Jet Operating For Amazon Prime Air Crashes Near Houston

A Boeing 767 cargo jetliner has crashed near Houston into a bay just east of the city shortly before 12:45pm (central) on Saturday. Emergency crews are responding after the jet went down into Trinity Bay, near Anahuac, Texas. 

Early reports say the cargo plane had 3 crew members on board, with the Chambers County Sheriff’s office saying there were no survivors. The sheriff’s office posted an update to its Facebook page saying the plane has been located at the north end of the bay. 

An Amazon Air (formerly Prime Air) Boeing 767, operated by Atlas Air. Image source: Public Domain photo

The Federal Aviation Administration also confirmed three people aboard. The plane, identified as Atlas Air Flight 3591, reportedly operating for Amazon Prime Air, was en route to George Bush Intercontinental Airport from Miami when it crashed, according to the FAA. Emergency crews are searching the water, including Coast Guard helicopter rescue. 

The company operating the flight, Atlas Air Inc., says it transports items from “precious perishables or heavy construction equipment to arranging passenger charters for celebrities or dignitaries,” according to its website.

Below shows the plane’s flight path into Houston from Miami before the deadly crash. 

According to a local ABC affiliate

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an Alert Notice (ALNOT) on Atlas Air Flight 3591 after losing radar and radio contact with the Boeing 767 approximately 30 miles southeast of Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The aircraft was flying from Miami to Houston.

There appears to be local video taken of the plane just before it crashed into the bay. It shows the jet on an extremely slow descent, almost hovering above the water, but then cuts out seconds before the plane hits the water. 

Heavy.com as well as Houston area reporters are circulating the video originally posted to Instagram by an Anahuac, Texas local resident.

If confirmed, the video may be evidence that the pilots were trying to make an emergency landing on the water’s surface, into Trinity Bay. 

According to the plane’s registration it’s been in operation for twenty-six years, first as a passenger jet for international carriers. 

“FAA investigators are on their way to the accident site and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified,” said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford in a statement. “The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation.”

Twin Cities set February snowfall record — but freezing drizzle coming

Source:

A second round of snow this week is forecast to move in tonight and continue through the weekend.

Snow will continue into the night, accumulating only about two inches. But it could turn into a wintry mix.

Saturday could bring freezing drizzle as temps rise to around 35 degrees.

Temperatures could drop to the lower 20s on Sunday, and a couple of snow showers could occur.

St. Paul and Minneapolis declared snow emergencies Wednesday as a winter storm dropped up to 10 inches on the metro area, making this the snowiest February on record in the Twin Cities by a wide margin.

Wednesday’s storm closed schools and businesses across the metro area and created treacherous travel conditions throughout Minnesota for the morning and evening commutes. Belle Plaine, southwest of the Twin Cities, reported nearly 13 inches of snow.

WATCH: Horse-drawn buggy pulls Amish man on skis near MN-Iowa border

Between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday, the State Patrol responded to 208 crashes statewide — 29 with injuries, but none serious or fatal — and 627 vehicles that had spun out or gone off the road.

After briefly closing all its runways in the morning, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport operated only one runway for much of the day, as crews struggled to keep up with the rapidly falling snow.

As of 4:30 p.m., 131 flights had been canceled, according to the airport’s Twitter account.

A FEBRUARY FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

The snowfall was especially intense in the morning. By noon, the airport — which records the metro area’s official precipitation totals — had already received 7.8 inches, bringing the February tally for the Twin Cities to 30.4 inches. By 6 p.m., 8.9 inches of snow had fallen at the airport, bringing the monthly total to 31.5 inches.

Three men try to dig out a stuck car in a Highland Village Center parking lot, as more snow falls in St. Paul Wednesday. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

Not only does that eclipse the metro area’s previous February record of 25.6 inches set in 1962, it also makes this among the top 10 snowiest months in Twin Cities history. The top month was November 1991, when 46.9 inches fell, much of it as a result of the infamous Halloween Blizzard.

Wednesday’s storm prompted St. Paul to declare its fourth snow emergency this season, but that’s hardly a record — the 2010-11 season saw the city declare nine emergencies.

Wednesday’s snow emergency began at 9 p.m., starting with night plow routes. Crews began tackling day plow routes at 8 a.m. Thursday.

It was also the sixth day this school year the St. Paul district has canceled school. That puts its middle and high schools on pace to fall one day short of the statutory minimum instruction hours.

However, there were no consequences for schools that came up short last year, and Gov. Tim Walz has assured schools they won’t be punished this year, either.

AS SNOW PILES UP, SO DOES OVERTIME

In addition to all the snow, overtime for plow crews is also piling up for some cities — though it’s still early in the calendar year to be too much of a concern, some officials noted.

Still, “If we continue to have large snow events this spring, and then also have significant events in the November and December months, we would be seeing some budget issues,” said Justin Miller, Lakeville city administrator.

“I’d prefer this to being stuck on the 405 (a Los Angeles-area highway) said Heather McLean, formerly from Los Angeles and now living in Stillwater, as she shovels snow Wednesday. “It’s still better than the freeways, that’s for sure!” (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

For cities over normal levels of overtime, such as Mendota Heights, that could mean being forced to make budget adjustments elsewhere, City Administrator Mark McNeill said.

It also takes a toll on staff. At least 10 employees of the Stillwater Public Works Department have earned more than 40 hours of overtime during the last two-week pay period, said Shawn Sanders, public works director.

“They’ll work through every snow event until the job is done,” Sanders said. “When you’re getting big snows every three or four days, it takes a bit of a toll of them. They’ve done what they’ve been asked.”

Another band of snow is expected to blanket the metro area over the weekend.

The forecast for the weekend shows snow could begin Friday afternoon and continue off and on throughout the weekend.

Temperatures will be warmer, with highs near 30 on Friday, 34 on Saturday and 23 on Sunday. Colder air is expected to return early next week.

Nick Ferraro and Mary Divine contributed to this report.

Cayenne peppers are medicinal powerhouses that deserve a spot in your emergency medical kit

(Natural News) Add some spice to your emergency medical kit with cayenne peppers. This small but highly nutritious superfood packs a punch against various health problems. Some examples of its health benefits include the following: Stopping a stuffy nose — Cayenne peppers are effective against nasal congestion due to the common colds, flu, and allergies. It…

Quantitative Easing (QE) Forever: The Fed’s Dramatic About-face

“Quantitative easing” was supposed to be an emergency measure. The Federal Reserve “eased” shrinkage in the money supply due to the 2008-09 credit crisis by pumping out trillions of dollars in new bank reserves. After the crisis, the presumption was

The post Quantitative Easing (QE) Forever: The Fed’s Dramatic About-face appeared first on Global Research.

Quantitative Easing (QE) Forever: The Fed’s Dramatic About-face

“Quantitative easing” was supposed to be an emergency measure. The Federal Reserve “eased” shrinkage in the money supply due to the 2008-09 credit crisis by pumping out trillions of dollars in new bank reserves. After the crisis, the presumption was

The post Quantitative Easing (QE) Forever: The Fed’s Dramatic About-face appeared first on Global Research.

Everything you need to know about foraging for food when SHTF

(Natural News) Foraging for food during an emergency situation is quite different from when you’re just leisurely hiking. When it comes to food — especially the ones that you’ll need to eat to survive — you have to make sure that you have the right set of skills to identify which foods are safe to eat…

Lawsuit Challenges Trump’s Emergency Declaration for Border Wall

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the Trump administration today over the president’s emergency declaration to pay for his border walls.

Today’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., argues …

The post Lawsuit Challenges Trump’s Emergency Declaration for Border Wall appeared first on Global Research.

Russia Offered To Buy Barclays Stake During Peak Of Financial Crisis

During the peak of the financial crisis when UK banking giant Barclays was struggling to avoid taking a U.K. bailout, the Russian government made a formerly unknown approach to the bank. According to a report by Bloomberg, Russia “signaled its intention” to take a 500 million-pound ($641 million) stake in Barclays according to minutes from an October 2008 finance committee meeting that were shown to a jury during a fraud trial of senior bank executives. That trial is ongoing and has been covered by us at length.

Using the involvement of Hans-Joerg Rudloff, a Barclays banker with close ties to Russia, the country was seeking to take a 1.5% stake in the bank. The approach came to light as the bank was trying to close a deal with investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar in order to avoid a government bailout. Barclays was said to have been “vary wary” about the investment proposal, according to the committee meeting minutes. 

Rudloff was, at the time, chairmain of Barclays Capital, the bank’s investment banking arm. He also served on the Board of Directors of Russian oil conglomerate Rosneft for seven years prior to being re-elected in June 2018. 

The meeting minutes revealed that Barclays had instead proposed paying 120 million pounds in fees to help underwrite financing from Qatar, who is said to have laughed at the suggestion, before demanding 600 million pounds instead. 

The trial of banking executives pertaining to fraud that occurred during the crisis began in early January in a London courthouse. And while it has nothing to do with sales of the toxic mortgage backed securities and subprime loans that nearly brought down the financial system and forced millions of consumers out of their homes, it might be the closest thing to closure that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office can offer.

As we reported in late 2018, four Barclays executives, including former CEO John Varley, are on trial for fraud related to two emergency capital raises undertaken in 2008. To try and stave off nationalization (which would have devastated shareholders and, more importantly, placed the executives’ bonuses at risk) the bank turned to a group of Qatari investors who pumped a total of roughly 12 billion pounds (nearly $16 billion) into the bank.

In exchange for the emergency loans, Barclays wound up paying 322 million pounds ($423 million) in “fees” – which were, in reality, “dodgy” payoffs to the Qatari sheikh who arranged the financing. To ensure that the deal went through, the executives allegedly conspired to conceal these payments from their investors, the British state and – most importantly – the press.

50 MILLION Unskilled Invaders ARE COMING NOW

by Karl Denninger, Market Ticker: The “spending” bill, which Trump is going to sign at 1000 ET today and announce his “emergency” guarantees a flood of 50 million new invaders — and permanently protects all 20+ million here now. How? Any “asylum seeker” or other person “desiring entry” who names as a potential or actual sponsor someone here, and unlike for existing other legal immigration […]

The post 50 MILLION Unskilled Invaders ARE COMING NOW appeared first on SGT Report.

Crucial first aid skills you need to learn before going off grid

(Natural News) A prepper who lives off grid knows how important first aid skills are, especially if someone gets injured in a remote area and you don’t have access to emergency medical services. (h/t to HomesteadSurvivalSite.com) Listed below are crucial skills that you need to learn so you can address common medical emergencies. Applying a…
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