Yahoo News

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump is seriously considering waiving the requirement that only U.S. flagged vessels can move goods from American ports to Puerto Rico or energy-starved areas of the Northeast, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

The issue was debated during an Oval Office meeting on Monday, following requests from Puerto Rico and pressure from oil industry leaders to ease the nearly 100-year-old Jones Act requirements, according to three people. Although top administration officials are divided on the issue, Trump is now leaning in favor of some kind of waiver, said two of the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss the private discussions.  Continue reading “Trump mulls allowing foreign vessels to ship US gas within country”

ABC News

A sheriff’s K-9 was punctured by hundreds of porcupine quills while pursuing a suspect in Oregon over the weekend.

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office deployed the dog, named Odin, in the Barview area on Saturday evening to track down a man wanted on several felony charges and who’d fled a deputy on foot.  Continue reading “Quilled in the line of duty: K-9 cop punctured by porcupine in search for suspect”

Heavy.com – by Kate Prengel

The FBI has arrested Larry Mitchell Hopkins, the head of a militia group that has been detaining would-be migrants at the US-Mexico border. The FBI announced that Hopkins, 69, had been arrested on April 20 in Sunland Park, New Mexico on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Continue reading “Larry Mitchell Hopkins: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – Church-goers tackled a woman who held a 10-month-old baby, waved a gun and threatened to blow up the building at an Easter Sunday service in San Diego, leading to her arrest, police said.

The baby and the 31-year-old woman’s 5-year-old daughter were taken into protective custody, police said.  Continue reading “San Diego church-goers tackle woman holding baby, waving gun”

RT

Yellow Vests protests brought clashes and tear gas back to the streets of Paris, despite politicians’ calls for “unity” in the wake of the Notre Dame fire. For protesters, the response to the fire only showed more inequality.

Saturday’s protests mark the 23rd straight weekend of anti-government demonstrations, but the first since Notre Dame de Paris went up in flames on Monday. Officials were quick to criticize the protesters for returning to the streets so soon after the disaster.  Continue reading “1st since Notre Dame fire: Yellow Vests back in action despite ‘unifying’ disaster & they are angry”

Revolutionary War Archives – Sons of Liberty Chapter – by Donald N. Moran

It can be argued that April 19th, 1775 is the most important date in American history. The Battle of Lexington, Concord and Battle Road was the opening engagement of the American Revolution. And, it is not surprising that after two hundred and twenty-two years, some of the details are still the subject of some debate.

Since our readership is very familiar with the battle, we will only present an overview of the battle as background to our biography.  Continue reading “Never Too Old: The Story of Captain Samuel Whittemore”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – The Trump administration lost a court bid on Thursday aimed at striking down California’s “sanctuary” statutes that prevent local law enforcement from helping the U.S. government’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco largely affirmed a July ruling from a lower court, which had found the California laws do not conflict with federal immigration rules.  Continue reading “U.S. court upholds most of California’s ‘sanctuary’ migrant laws”

Fox News

Under President Trump’s new tax law, 60 of America’s biggest corporations paid $0 in federal taxes. in 2018, despite earning billions of dollars in profits.

Amazon, Netflix, General Motors, Chevron, JetBlue, IBM and U.S. Steel were all among the companies that avoided taxes last year using a diverse array of loopholes and tax breaks, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think-tank.  Continue reading “Amazon isn’t the only company that paid $0 in federal taxes last year”

Fox News

WASHINGTON – The Americas saw the greatest deterioration in press freedom of any part of the world during the last year, a press advocacy group said Thursday.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders shows that Nicaragua fell 24 places from the previous year’s list due to attacks on journalists covering protests against President Daniel Ortega. Some journalists fled abroad, fearing they might be jailed on terrorism charges.  Continue reading “Group: Americas saw greatest deterioration of press freedom”

Fox News

A manhunt for a woman allegedly “infatuated” with the Columbine massacre who traveled from Florida and forced schools in Colorado to close after threatening violence came to an end Wednesday after she was found dead of an apparent suicide in the mountains southwest of Denver.

Sol Pais,18, was found near the base of Mount Evans in Clear Creek County, located about 60 miles southwest of Denver, according to Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader. Shrader said that Pais was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Continue reading “Woman ‘infatuated’ with Columbine, connected to Colorado school threats found dead, source says”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Update 2: Ever careful to watch for false-flags and conspiracy theory concerns, video is emerging of a Gilets-Jaunes in black clothes at one of the two towers half an hour after the start of the fire at Notre-Dame… Continue reading “The Internet Erupts With Speculation About Who Started The Notre Dame Fire”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed into law on Friday the Democrats’ gun confiscatory Red Flag legislation.

The legislation allows courts to issue orders for the confiscation of individuals’ guns.

Tribune Ledger News reported that the legislation, House Bill 1177, did not garner a single Republican vote. And more than half of Colorado’s county governments have voiced opposition to the bill, making clear they have no plans to enforce it.  Continue reading “Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Signs Democrat-Sponsored Gun Confiscation Bill”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors announced charges on Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, accusing him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history.

Assange, arrested by British police in London and carried out of Ecuador’s embassy, faces up to five years in prison on the American charge, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. His arrest paved the way for his possible extradition to the United States. Continue reading “U.S. charges WikiLeaks’ Assange with hacking conspiracy with Manning”

AP News

CROSBY, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump’s support for shifting more power to states on Wednesday faded next to his affinity for oil and gas production, as he aimed to make it harder for states to block pipelines and other energy projects due to environmental concerns.

At the urging of business groups, Trump signed two executive orders designed to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects. The action came after officials in Washington state and New York used the permitting process to stop new energy projects in recent years, prompting complaints from Republican members of Congress and the fossil fuel industry.  Continue reading “Trump signs orders making it harder to block pipelines”

Fox News

Alexa is like having your own personal assistant that never asks for a raise. The problem is she’s always listening — and so are thousands of Amazon workers, according to a report.

Teams stationed around the world listen to and transcribe recordings, then send them back into the Echo’s software to erase the gaps in Alexa’s ability to understand speech, a report from Bloomberg said.  Continue reading “Thousands of Amazon workers listen to recordings from Alexa: reports”

Fox News

The son of a Louisiana sheriff’s deputy was arrested Wednesday in connection with fires that burned down three historically black churches in the past two weeks, police said.

Holden Matthews, 21, has been booked into the St. Landry Parish jail on suspicion of arson, KATC-TV reported, citing law enforcement sources. Matthews is the son of St. Landry Parish Deputy Roy Matthews. Authorities have not released a mug shot of the suspect.  Continue reading “Son of sheriff’s deputy arrested in connection with historically black church fires: report”

RT

A lawyer for whistleblower Julian Assange has confirmed that he has been arrested partly in relation to a request for extradition from the United States.

Writing on Twitter, Jen Robinson said Assange’s arrest in London was “not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request.”   Continue reading “Assange has been arrested ‘in relation to a US extradition request’ – lawyer”

Yahoo News

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A gas explosion that partially collapsed a North Carolina building and set it ablaze Wednesday morning killed one person and injured more than a dozen others, police said.

Police cars blocked the streets near the explosion in downtown Durham and a thick, acrid smoke hung over the shopping district created from remodeled tobacco warehouses. At least two ladder trucks sprayed blasts of water into the smoldering rubble nearly two hours after the explosion.  Continue reading “Police: 1 dead, 15 injured in North Carolina gas explosion”

Vox – by Zack Beauchamp

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to hold on to power, winning what will be a record fifth term in office despite having faced a bruising reelection fight.

The preliminary results from Israel’s Tuesday election have Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party getting 35 seats out of a total 120 seats in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament). While Likud didn’t win an outright majority of seats, that’s typical in Israeli elections.  Continue reading “Benjamin Netanyahu won Israel’s election. Here’s what comes next.”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents on Tuesday broke up a billion dollar Medicare scam that peddled unneeded orthopedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors. Two dozen people were charged, including doctors accused of writing bogus prescriptions.

The Justice Department said the scheme relied on overseas call centers to pry Medicare numbers from beneficiaries. Authorities also announced charges against owners of call centers, telemedicine firms and medical equipment companies that shipped unneeded back, shoulder, wrist and knee braces.  Continue reading “Feds charge 2 dozen in billion dollar Medicare brace scam”