The Daily Populous

US backs out of global oil anti-corruption effort

The Trump administration said Thursday it would exit an international effort to fight corruption that targeted revenue from oil and natural gas extraction.

The U.S. will no longer participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global initiative that requires member nations to disclose their revenues from oil, gas and mining assets, according to Reuters.

Under the agreement, the U.S. was required to reveal all the revenue it received from oil, gas and mining companies, and required those companies to publicly disclose the payments they make to the U.S. and other governments.

ADVERTISEMENT. U.S. Office of Natural Resources Revenue Director Gregory J. Gould sent a letter to the EITI's board on Thursday announcing that the U.S. would exit the agreement “effective immediately.".

“It is clear that domestic implementation of EITI does not fully account for the U.S. legal framework," Gould wrote in his letter.

Democrats and nonprofits ripped the move as a sign that the Trump administration was choosing big business over transparency.

It sends such a terrible signal overseas for what we stand for," an adviser at the Natural Resource Governance Institute told Reuters. »

What Is America’s Favorite Drink?

Authored by mix1041.cbslocal.com

That’s the first time in almost 30 years that water has beat soda.

In 1998, soda drinking peaked at an average of 54 gallons a year and water was at 42 gallons.

So the major soda companies are probably fine with water surpassing soda since Coke owns Dasani and Pepsi owns Aquafina. »

Study: Americans are retiring later, dying sooner and sicker in-between

Authored by dailyherald.com

Study: Americans are retiring later, dying sooner and sicker in-between.

Data released recently suggest Americans' health is declining and millions of middle-age workers face the prospect of shorter, and less active, retirements than their parents enjoyed.

Almost one in three Americans age 65 to 69 is still working, along with almost one in five in their early 70s. »

NASA: Ozone hole smallest it's been since 1988

Authored by cnet.com

The last time the ozone hole was this small was in 1988 when Bobby McFerrin was burning up the charts with "Don't Worry Be Happy" and acid-wash jeans were the height of fashion.

NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been monitoring the ozone hole since it was first discovered in 1985.

The ozone hole changes throughout the year and reached its 2017 peak size on Sept. 11 at the end of the region's wintertime. »

N.J. police chief said black people are 'like ISIS' and he'd like to be 'on the firing squad,' feds say

Authored by chicagotribune.com

Frank Nucera Jr., 60, who had been chief of the Borden Township Police Department, was arrested Monday, and the charges against him were unsealed Tuesday.

I'd like to be on the firing squad, I could do it," according to the complaint.

Federal authorities said Nucera retired from the police department shortly after New Jersey's attorney general was informed of the investigation into him. »