Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

For the second time in 18 months, a dead body has been found at the home of Ed Buck, a prominent LA-based Democratic donor who once ran for the West Hollywood City Council, according to reports from a local TV station.

KTLA reported that the body of a man in his 50s was found by police shortly after 1 am on Monday. Buck’s attorney said the deceased was an old friend of Buck’s who died of an overdose after ingesting drugs at another location.  Continue reading “Second Dead Body Found At LA Home Of Wealthy Democratic Donor”

ABC News

Eight years to the day that former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot at a constituent meeting in Tuscon, Arizona, House Democrats said they’re planning to unveil a universal background check bill they hope to pass within the first 100 days of the new Congress.

The measure, which will be introduced today at an event with Giffords and gun control advocates, would require background checks on the sale of any firearm and expand existing background checks to cover anyone attempting to buy firearms online, commercially or at gun shows, while providing exceptions for law enforcement and the transfer of guns between friends and family members.   Continue reading “House Democrats to unveil universal background check bill on anniversary of Gabby Giffords shooting”

Real Clear Life

Five Chicago police officers have committed suicide over the past six months; the most recent of which occurred Tuesday.

The Department of Justice released a report in 2017 consistent with this alarming trend, noting that the city’s officer suicide rate was 60% higher than the national law enforcement average, NBC News reported. In response, Chicago police departments are currently working towards instituting new initiatives to help officers who might be considering the same fate.   Continue reading “Recent Cluster of Police Suicides Raises Alarms”

Fox News

A police officer in Utah was shot and killed while trying to apprehend a “dangerous fugitive” on Saturday night, officials said.

Officer Joseph Shinners, 29, of the Provo Police Department, was shot during the incident, Chief Rich Ferguson told reporters at a news conference Sunday afternoon.   Continue reading “Utah police officer shot, killed while attempting to arrest fugitive, officials say”

ABC News

Two former South Carolina sheriff’s deputies were arrested Friday after two women in their transport van died when they were swept away in Hurricane Florence floodwaters, officials said.

Joshua Bishop, 29, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and Stephen Flood, 66, has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, said the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which is investigating the case.   Continue reading “2 former deputies arrested after 2 women drowned in their transport van during Hurricane Florence: Officials”

Chron

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded its first contract in a $326 million project to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel.

Officials with the Corps awarded a $92 million contract to Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, port officials confirmed on Thursday afternoon.   Continue reading “First dredging contract awarded to deepen, widen Corpus Christi Ship Channel”

Yahoo News

Police in Australia responded to reports of a man screaming “why don’t you die?” by dispatching multiple units to a home in Perth.

But officers were soon told to stand down when they found a man who “had only been trying to kill a spider”, according to the police log published online.   Continue reading “Australian man screaming at spider ‘why don’t you die?’ triggers full police response”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

A hacking collective known as The Dark Overlord announced on New Year’s Eve that it had broken into the computer systems of a law firm and obtained files related to the September 11 attacks – threatening to publicly release a large cache of internal files unless a hefty ransom is paid, according to Motherboard.

Dark Overlord’s demands targeted several insurers and legal firms, including Lloyds of London, Silverstein Properties and Hiscox Syndicates. It is unclear what exact files were stolen by the group, however the hacking collective tweeted “We’ll be providing many answers about 9.11 conspiracies through our 18.000 secret documents leak from @HiscoxComms and others.”    Continue reading ““Pay The F*ck Up”: Hackers Threaten To Dump Secret 9/11 Attack Files If Bitcoin Ransom Not Met”

Fox 5 News

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A group of about 150 migrants attempted to breach a San Diego border fence on New Year’s Eve, and some began throwing rocks at responding U.S. border agents who deployed pepper spray and tear gas on the crowd, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the group was attempting to climb over and under the San Diego border fence. When agents and officers responded, about 45 migrants turned back to Mexico, according to the agency.   Continue reading “Border agents fire tear gas at migrants attempting to cross border illegally”

Yahoo News

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington on Tuesday joined a handful of other states that ban anyone under 21 from buying a semi-automatic assault rifle after voters passed a sweeping firearms measure in November that has drawn a court challenge from gun-rights advocates.

The ballot initiative seeks to curb gun violence by toughening background checks for people buying assault rifles, increasing the age limit to buy those firearms and requiring the safe storage of all guns. Only the age-limit portion of the measure goes into effect on Jan. 1; the rest becomes law on July 1.   Continue reading “Washington bans anyone under 21 from buying assault rifles”

CNN

A US Marine was shot and killed while on duty at the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC, early Tuesday morning, the Marine Corps said in a news release.

The fatal injury was not self-inflicted, Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Jackson said.   Continue reading “Marine shot and killed on duty at Marine Barracks in Washington, DC”

CNN

California’s largest public utility provider could face murder or manslaughter charges if it were found responsible for causing the state’s recent deadly wildfires, according to court documents filed by the state attorney general.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., or PG&E, could potentially face a range of criminal offenses if any of the wildfires broke out as a result of the utility failing to properly operate and maintain power lines, per an amicus brief filed in US District Court Friday by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.   Continue reading “California’s largest utility provider could face murder charges for wildfires, AG says”

Mashable – by Johnny Lieu

A suspected malware attack affected major U.S. newspapers over the weekend.

In what was initially thought to be a server outage, the attack delayed distribution of Saturday’s Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribuneaccording to the Times.

On Saturday afternoon, the company suspected that the attack had originated from outside of the U.S., but didn’t reveal any further detail about its origins or what evidence led to the belief it came from overseas.   Continue reading “Malware attack stops major U.S. newspapers from publishing”

Yahoo News

Washington (AFP) – A US judge who ruled earlier this month that Obamacare is unconstitutional has said the health care law can stand while his decision is appealed.

In a stay order issued Sunday, Texas-based Judge Reed O’Connor said that while he was confident his ruling would be upheld, it should not take effect until the outcome of an appeal is known “because many everyday Americans would otherwise face great uncertainty.”   Continue reading “US judge says Obamacare can stand while appeal is heard”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – More than 200 people from across the United States have fallen ill, 84 of them hospitalized, from an ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey products that prompted a second voluntary recall on Friday, the U.S. government said.

The latest food-safety advisory from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta came as millions of Americans planned their Christmas holiday menus, updating a notice for contaminated turkey issued in early November.   Continue reading “Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey leaves over 200 sick across U.S.”

ABC News

House Republicans voted to approve a bill to fund President Donald Trump’s $5 billion demand for a border wall, setting up a final showdown in the Senate ahead of Friday’s deadline to avert a government shutdown.

The vote received no Democratic support, and the bill’s prospects in the Senate are dim as Democrats have pledged to defeat the divisive measure.   Continue reading “House Republicans approve bill to fund border wall, setting up a final showdown in the Senate”

The Fresno Bee – by Carmen George

Laws need to be changed to allow local law enforcement to more easily communicate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in regards to criminals in jail who are deemed violent, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Wednesday.

Boudreaux was responding to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in which ICE said Monday’s “deadly rampage could have been prevented” if the agency had been notified of Junior “Gustavo” Garcia-Ruiz’s release from jail on Friday after he was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance.   Continue reading “Tulare County sheriff after rampage: Laws should be changed to better communicate with ICE”

ABC News

The Trump administration is going around the lengthy farm bill negotiations to push for a rule that would force more people who enroll in food stamps to comply with work requirements, despite the fact that Republicans were unsuccessful in pushing the same measure through Congress.

Republicans have pushed for more work requirements for food stamp participants and for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow states to impose more requirements such as drug testing. But those requests were left out of the recently approved farm bill after Democrats refused to move forward with the changes and other GOP proposals.  Continue reading “Trump directs USDA to expand work requirements on food stamps”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

The WSJ just reported a monumental and historic reversal in White House policy on Syria, revealing Wednesday morning the Pentagon is preparing to withdraw all forces from northeastern Syria“immediately”:

In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a move that throws the American strategy in the Middle East into turmoil. Continue reading “In Drastic Reversal, US Prepares “Full Withdrawal” Of Forces From Syria “Immediately””

Fox News

New Jersey authorities are still trying to recover some of the money that spilled from a truck and onto a highway last week, with the latest outstanding figure coming in at roughly $189,000, police said.

Since the incident Thursday morning, money has been trickling “in dribs and drabs,” Captain Phil Taormina of the East Rutherford Police Department told NJ.com on Tuesday.   Continue reading “Massive haul of cash still missing after Brink’s truck dumped money on NJ highway, police say”