Russian Duma Approves Crimea Annexation

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has overwhelmingly voted to ratify a treaty to annex Crimea from Ukraine.

The lawmakers voted on the measure Thursday, and the parliament's upper house, the Federation Council, will hold a similar vote on Friday.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed the treaty making Crimea part of Russia after Mr. Putin declared in a speech that the peninsula had always been an "inalienable" part of Russia.

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United Kingdom to introduce 'highly secure' 1-pound coin in 2017

March 19 (Reuters) - Britain plans to replace its 1-pound coin in 2017 with "the most secure coin in circulation in the world" as it cracks down on fake currency, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The design of the current pound coin, which has been in circulation for more than 30 years, leaves it vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters, the Treasury said.

"The Royal Mint estimates that about 3 percent of all 1 pound coins, or 45 million, are now forgeries. In some parts of the United Kingdom country, it is as high as 6 percent."

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U.S. suggests Baltics war games in response to Russian "land grab"

WARSAW, March 18 (Reuters) - The United States is considering sending troops for war games in the Baltic states bordering Russia, Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday in an effort to reassure NATO allies alarmed at the Kremlin's intervention in Ukraine.

Moscow's despatch of troops to Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and its unilateral declaration that the area is now part of Russia have left NATO member states in eastern Europe worried that they could be next in line.

In the Polish capital on the first leg of a two-day trip to the region, Biden condemned Russia's actions in Crimea as a land grab, and he said NATO's commitment to protect any of its members from attack was unwavering.

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Rancher Faces $75,000-A-Day In EPA Fines For Building Pond On His Land

A Wyoming rancher is facing a $75,000 a day fine from the Environmental Protection Agency because he built a stock pond on his own property.

The agency claims private landowner Andrew Johnson violated the Clean Water Act by building the pond near a stream, and has ordered him to restore the land back to its original state.

“EPA appears more interested in intimidating and bankrupting Mr. Johnson than it does in working cooperatively with him,” three US Senators wrote in a letter to the agency about Johnson’s case. A spokesman for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) gave Off The Grid News a copy of the letter.

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It's Holi - Let The Colorful Celebrations Begin!

Festivals are a way of life for people that practice Hinduism. Not a month goes by without one. However, very few are as fun or as widely anticipated as Holi, the festival of colors. Celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, on the day following a full moon, this year's festivities will take place on March 17th.

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Hunter Bags 500-Pound Wild Boar

"It was very surreal," Webb told WNCT. "It was a shock. It was very humbling to say the least, when you walk up on a beast that big and you say, 'Oh my gosh.' I had no idea that there could be something that big running around the woods of Eastern North Carolina."

Webb, a veteran hunter, killed the huge hog with a single shot from his .308 caliber rifle. While some of his other big kills were mounted as trophies at the hunting club, this time, Webb chose to harvest the meat from the boar.

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Hammer: 'Moral Bankruptcy' Behind Massive GM Recall

According to a new report, more than 300 people have been killed in crashes of General Motors cars that have been recently recalled. That's more than ten times the number of fatalities GM has reported. According to the study by Friedman Research, 303 people lost their lives due to defective ignitions that could cause cars to stall and not deploy their airbags.
GM claims the recall, which affects 1.6 million cars worldwide, has only taken a dozen lives. Hundreds of complaints have been filed about the safety issue, and GM admits knowing about the safety issue since 2001.

Critics have questioned why it's taken so long for GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to act. The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the matter.

Now joining us to discuss this is Frank Hammer. Frank is a retired General Motors employee, former president and chairman of Local 909 in Warren, Michigan; now organizes the Autoworker Caravan, an association of active and retired autoworkers who advocate for workers' demands in Washington.

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200 killed in Nigeria in raids by suspected Fulani Muslims

SANKWAI, Nigeria, March 16 (UPI) -- Three villages in central Nigeria were destroyed and about 200 people killed in violence between farmers and ethnic Fulani herdsmen, police said Sunday.

The villages in Kaduna State -- Takum, Unguwar Gata and Sankwai -- were burned Friday, and about 50 gunmen assaulted the communities Friday and early Saturday, a witness in Sankwai, Gideon Bughu, said.

"They fired into homes. As women and children scampered to escape, they were shot and later cut with machetes. They set our homes on fire ... but the villagers managed to kill some of the Fulani men, some of who wore army uniforms," Bughu told the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard.

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