Did Clinton's Backdoor Adviser Illegally Lobby for Putin Ally?

Sam Biddle · 03/30/15 10:25AM

Hillary Clinton says there is nothing to hide in her scandalous personal email account, now apparently half-deleted. But leaked emails from her longtime confidant Sidney Blumenthal show that he and another former official from Bill Clinton's administration were secretly lobbying the secretary of state on behalf of a billionaire in the former Soviet state of Georgia who was seeking closer ties with Putin's Russia—seemingly in violation of a federal law designed to prevent foreign powers from covertly wielding influence within the United States.

Two Bodies Found in Rubble of East Village Building Explosion

Hudson Hongo · 03/29/15 02:25PM

UPDATE 8:30 p.m.: One of the deceased has been identified as 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa. According to reports, Figueroa was on a first date and reportedly got caught in the worst of the blast when he walked to the back of the restaurant, apparently to pay the check. His date, who was apparently waiting at the table, survived with a broken rib and punctured lung.