From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
The New York Post – by Will Feuer
Fraudsters may have plundered as much as half of the unemployment benefits that the US pumped out in a hurry during the pandemic.
Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me, a fraud prevention service, told Axios that the US has lost more than $400 billion to crooked claims. Continue reading “Half of pandemic unemployment money may have been stolen, with 70% of it going out of county: report”
A Texas woman was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison for making false 911 calls regarding her neighbors in January 2019 resulting in a deadly Houston police raid killing both homeowners.
“There’s no question in my mind, Ms. Garcia, in that you wanted something bad to happen,” U.S. Judge George C. Hanks said during the sentencing hearing held by videoconference Tuesday. “You didn’t really care what happened, and respectfully, the court can’t condone that.” Continue reading “Woman sentenced to federal prison over bogus 911 calls resulting in multiple deaths”
Fastly, a major content delivery network, triggered a major internet blackout on Tuesday morning has blamed a software bug.
We first noticed the problem a little after 0600 ET Tuesday when countless websites, including Reddit, Financial Times, PayPal, and other websites, went down.
Continue reading “How A Fastly Customer “Triggered” Yesterday’s “Broad And Severe” Global Internet Outage”
Affordable housing in Ketchum—the Idaho resort community adjacent to billionaire and celebrity playground Sun Valley—has been a problem for decades.
But the situation is becoming so dire in the wake of COVID-19 that city officials are considering an unusual range of quick fixes—including building tent cities and RV parks for the common folk in the ultra-rich mountain town, where the average median home listing price is hovering above $900,000. Continue reading “The Superrich Bought Up This Idaho Town and Regular Folks Now May Have to Live in Tents”
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice announced Monday that it had recovered $2.3 million in cryptocurrency from criminal hackers who compromised a major U.S. pipeline in mid-May that resulted in fuel outages and hoarding across the East Coast for six days.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a seizure warrant on Monday, allowing the DOJ to take action to confiscate a large chunk of the $4.4 million paid by Colonial Pipeline to the DarkSide ransomware operators, who demanded payment in exchange for unlocking their victims’ stolen digital files. Continue reading “Justice Department recovers majority of Colonial Pipeline ransom: ‘We turned the tables on DarkSide’”
United States Department of Justice
Today, the Department of Justice announced two new steps to help address the continuing epidemic of gun violence affecting communities across the country. First, the department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that makes clear that when individuals use accessories to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the heightened regulations on those dangerous and easily concealable weapons. Second, the department published model legislation to help states craft their own “extreme risk protection order” laws, sometimes called “red flag” laws. By sending the proposed rule to the Federal Register and publishing the model legislation today, the department has met the deadlines that the Attorney General announced alongside President Biden in April. Continue reading “Justice Department Issues Proposed Rule and Model Legislation to Reduce Gun Violence”
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that thousands of people living in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are ineligible to apply to become permanent residents.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court that federal immigration law prohibits people who entered the country illegally and now have Temporary Protected Status from seeking “green cards” to remain in the country permanently. Continue reading “Supreme Court rules against immigrants with temporary status”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge Friday overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, ruling that it violates the constitutional right to bear arms.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled that the state’s definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons commonly allowed in most other states and by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive,” Benitez said. He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal. Continue reading “U.S. judge overturns California’s ban on assault weapons”
HOUSTON (AP) — A former Houston police officer has pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a 2019 drug raid that killed both homeowners.
Steven Bryant admitted in his guilty plea Tuesday that he lied and obstructed the resulting investigation in the raid, the Houston Chronicle reported. Continue reading “Ex-officer pleads guilty in connection with fatal drug raid”
Meat shortage averted?
JBS SA, the world’s largest meat producer, announced: “they are on schedule to resume production at all of their facilities on Thursday.”
Employees began returning to JBS’ shuttered meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company’s beef operations were halted across the country following a ransomware attack over the weekend. Continue reading “JBS Reopens All Meat Plants Thursday As Crisis Averted”
Two foster kids—aged 12 and 14—allegedly broke into a Florida home late Tuesday, found a huge stash of firearms, then used the guns in a 30-minute shootout with a team of sheriff’s deputies. According to WKMG, the incident happened at a home in Volusia County where the owner had left behind an AK-47, a pump shotgun, a handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Continue reading “Two Florida Foster Kids, Aged 12 and 14, Break Into Home and Start Shootout With Deputies”
A Texas man was arrested Friday after law enforcement intercepted a message indicating that he was planning to proceed with a mass shooting at a Walmart, police said.
“Coleman Thomas Blevins, age 28, of Kerrville, was arrested by the KCSO Special Operations Division in the 1000 block of Junction Highway on Friday, May 28th, on a warrant for a Terroristic Threat to Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury. Supporting the arrest were the DPS-CID, FBI, Kerrville PD Patrol Division, and US Secret Service,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook statement Sunday night. Continue reading “Texas man arrested for allegedly planning mass shooting at Walmart: Police”
A manhunt was underway in the Miami area early Sunday after three gunmen opened fire on a crowd of people at a banquet hall, killing at least two and wounding about 25, according to reports.
At least one wounded person was in critical condition, the Miami Herald reported. Continue reading “Florida shooting at Miami-area banquet hall leaves at least 2 dead, about 25 wounded: reports”
Multiple cans of gasoline, 12 firearms and approximately 22,000 rounds of various types of ammunition were found by law enforcement at the home of the gunman who fatally shot nine of his fellow employees at a light-rail yard in San Jose, California, local authorities announced Friday. Officials said that the suspect, Samuel Cassidy, 57, “was prepared to use his firearms to take as many lives as he possibly could.”
“It is clear that this was a planned event,” a statement from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office read. Continue reading “22,000 rounds of ammunition found in San Jose shooter’s home”
WASHINGTON — After years of failed attempts to pass a firearms background check bill, two senators think they have a path to agreement — at least on one key component of a deal.
Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have been quietly negotiating a way to bolster background check rules by making a small but consequential tweak to current law, which they say would close an unintended loophole in the system that has led to preventable mass shootings. Continue reading “A quiet bipartisan effort on gun background checks may have a path to a deal”
Nine people were killed, including the gunman, in a shooting Wednesday morning at a San Jose rail yard, authorities said.
The suspect set his own house on fire, then drove to a Valley Transportation Authority union meeting and began shooting, law enforcement sources said.
The gunman was identified by sources as Samuel Cassidy, 57, a maintenance worker at the VTA. Continue reading “Nine dead after gunman opens fire at San Jose rail yard”
A birthday party invitation that went viral on TikTok brought hundreds of people to a raucous celebration on a Southern California beach Saturday night, prompting police to declare an unlawful assembly and arrest nearly 150 people after they refused orders to disperse.
The massive gathering began with a now-deleted video posted on the popular social media app from a user named adrian.lopez517, who invited anyone to his birthday party by Huntington Beach’s fire pits Saturday night, The Orange County Register reported Sunday. The hashtag “AdriansKickBack” received more than 180 million views on TikTok. Continue reading “Viral video drew hundreds to California party; 149 arrested”
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Two people were killed and a dozen others were wounded in a mass shooting at a New Jersey house party over the weekend.
Gun fire seemed to come from out of nowhere during a birthday party at a home in Fairfield Township on Saturday night, CBS2’s Dick Brennan reported. Continue reading “Suspect Kevin Dawkins, 36, Arrested In Mass Shooting At Fairfield Township, NJ House Party; ‘Not A Random Act Of Violence’ Attorney General Says”
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A manhunt was underway Sunday for a gunman who opened fire at a crowded house party, killing two people, wounding 12 more and shocking a quiet, rural community 50 miles south of Philadelphia.
State Police, called to the scene just before midnight Saturday, said they arrived to find the bodies of a 30-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman. One of the wounded partygoers was hospitalized in critical condition, police said in a statement. Continue reading “Manhunt underway after gunman kills 2, wounds 12 in New Jersey house party shooting rampage”
Israeli security forces used stun grenades and rubber bullets against Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, where thousands of worshipers had been attending Friday prayers, puncturing a half-day of calm brought on by a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A CNN journalist at the mosque compound said dozens of Israeli officers hit journalists with batons and tried to point rifles at them, calling them “liars” when they showed them their press cards. Continue reading “Israeli forces clash with Palestinians outside Al Aqsa mosque after Gaza ceasefire”