From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
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”
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”
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”
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”
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.”
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”
A day after Donald Trump designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organisation, reports are reemerging of the Trump Organization’s alleged participation in a scheme that likely helped the IRGC launder money to fund its interests abroad.
The US government made the unprecedented move to blacklist another country’s military because, Mr Trump said, the IRGC “actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft”. Continue reading “Trump’s ‘business ties’ to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reemerge, a day after he designated it a terror group”
Washington Examiner – by Susan Ferrechio
The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a travel advisory for “immigrants and people of color to use extreme caution” in Florida because of a pending immigration bill the state legislature is considering that would ban so-called sanctuary cities.
The Florida Legislature has advanced legislation that would require local law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in detaining undocumented immigrants. Continue reading “ACLU warns ‘immigrants and people of color,’ against travel in Florida”
Following former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s Sunday resignation due to her “abysmal failure” to curb the crisis at the southern border (indeed, the number of migrants and asylum seekers pouring into the US has reached unprecedented levels this year), President Trump appears to be embarking on a purge of all Nielsen’s allies and direct reports – starting with Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles. Continue reading “Trump Fires Head Of Secret Service”
In response to Washington’s decision to put Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on the terrorist list, the Iranian Supreme Security Council declared the US a “terrorist government” while calling the US CENTCOM a terrorist group as well.
Following what it called an “unlawful and unreasonable action” of the US, Tehran officially declared the US “a terrorist government and the US Central Command known as CENTCOM as well as all its affiliates a terrorist group,” a statement of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme National Security Council headed by President Hassan Rouhani said. Continue reading “Iran’s Supreme Security Council puts US troops on its terrorist groups list”
President Trump announced Sunday afternoon that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen “will be leaving her position” after 16 months in the job.
Trump also announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan will replace Nielsen as acting secretary, tweeting: “I have confidence that Kevin will do a great job!” Continue reading “Nielsen resigns as DHS secretary after White House meeting with Trump”
A Texas state trooper was in critical but stable condition early Sunday after being shot while approaching a driver who had fled from a crash scene not far from the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said.
Further information on the trooper’s condition, along with his name, was not immediately available. Continue reading “Suspect held in shootout near US-Mexico border; Texas trooper ‘critical’ but stable”
A hostage situation in Georgia that lasted nearly 20 hours reportedly ended early Friday with three deaths and two wounded police officers.
The alleged gunman, a teenager and a pregnant woman were found dead inside a house in Henry County after an exhausting standoff with police that began early Thursday, Atlanta station WSB-TV reported. Continue reading “Georgia standoff ends after nearly 20 hours; 3 dead inside house, including gunman: report”
President Trump has punted on his plans for closing the southern border, telling a group of reporters on Thursday that he will give Mexico a year to stop the flow of migrants and drugs into the US. If they fail on either count, Trump will either slap tariffs on Mexican-made cars or close the border entirely. Continue reading “Trump Punts On Border Closure, Gives Mexico A Year To Stop Flow Of Drugs & Immigrants Into US”
BB&T Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the biggest financiers to the firearms industry and should sever ties with gunmakers and trade groups, according to advocacy organization Guns Down America. Continue reading “BB&T, Wells Fargo Get Failing Grades From Gun-Control Advocates”
Immigration officials on Wednesday arrested some 280 employees of a North Texas tech company suspected of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, the largest such single-company sweep in 11 years.
More than 200 law enforcement personnel took part in the operation at CVE Technology Group in Allen, north of Dallas. Officials said the company refurbishes and repairs telecommunications equipment, including cellphones. Continue reading “Immigration operation at Texas tech firm brings almost 300 worker arrests”
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh City Council gave final approval Tuesday to gun restrictions proposed after last year’s synagogue massacre, inviting a legal challenge by gun-rights activists who have long tangled with the city over firearms.
After taking an initial vote last week, the all-Democratic council voted 6-3 to send the legislation to the desk of Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto, who is expected to sign the bills into law. Continue reading “Pittsburgh approves gun restrictions; lawsuits expected”
Joe Biden appears to have made a major tactical error last year when he bragged to an audience of foreign policy experts how he threatened to hurl Ukraine into bankruptcy if their top prosecutor, General Viktor Shokin, wasn’t immediately fired, according to The Hill‘s John Solomon.
In his own words, with video cameras rolling, Biden described how he threatened Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in March 2016 that the Obama administration would pull $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, sending the former Soviet republic toward insolvency, if it didn’t immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. –The Hill
Continue reading “Forget ‘Creepy’ – Biden Has A Major Ukraine Problem”
HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. investigators hope this week for the first time to enter the site of a massive fuel fire and chemical spill outside Houston to begin the hunt for a cause and to determine whether the operator followed safety regulations.
The blaze, at Mitsui & Co’s Intercontinental Terminals Co (ITC) storage facility in Deer Park, Texas, began March 17 and released toxic chemicals into the air and nearby waterways. Shipping along the largest oil port in the United States remained disrupted on Monday, as did operations at two nearby refineries. Continue reading “U.S. investigators to begin hunt for cause of Texas petrochemical disaster”
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The country’s largest electric company was ordered Monday to excavate coal ash from all of its North Carolina power plant sites, slashing the risk of toxic chemicals leaking into water supplies but potentially adding billions of dollars to the costs consumers pay.
Duke Energy Corp. must remove the residue left after decades of burning coal to produce electricity, North Carolina’s environmental agency said. The company had proposed covering some storage pits with a waterproof cap, saying that would prevent rain from passing through and carrying chemicals through the unlined bottoms and would provide a quicker and cheaper option. Continue reading “North Carolina orders Duke Energy to excavate all coal ash”