Huffington Post

U.S. House lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a trio of bipartisan measures meant to rein in civil asset forfeiture, a controversial law enforcement practice that allows police to confiscate property from individuals without ever convicting them of a crime, and often without even charging them.

In a series of unanimous voice votes, the House moved to block the implementation of a Justice Department directive earlier this year that encouraged these types of seizures. In July, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he was reversing Obama-era restrictions on adoptive forfeitures, which had allowed state and local law enforcement agencies to seize property suspected of being linked to a crime, before passing the civil cases off to federal prosecutors.

Continue reading “House Rejects Sessions Order Giving Cops More Power To Take Innocent People’s Stuff”

The Hill – by Morgan Chalfant

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ordering federal agencies and departments to stop using software produced by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab, citing potential risks to U.S. national security.

The department says it’s concerned about ties between certain Kaspersky employees and the Russian government.   Continue reading “DHS bans Kaspersky software in federal agencies”

ABC News

Six people are dead after Hurricane Irma knocked out air conditioning at a nursing home in Hollywood, Florida, according to ABC affiliate WPLG.

While the causes of their deaths were not immediately clear, the facility, Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, was evacuated due to the cooling issues.

Dr. Randy Katz, director of emergency services at Memorial Regional Hospital, which is next to the nursing home, said there were extremely hot temperatures on the nursing home’s second floor.   Continue reading “6 dead after Irma knocks out air conditioning at Florida nursing home”

Business Insider – by Lindsay Dodgson

A wildlife photographer and an animal rights group have reached a settlement in perhaps the weirdest lawsuit of the century.

David Slater and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been at loggerheads for years over who owns the rights to the famous “monkey selfie” taken by a curious macaque in 2011.   Continue reading “A surreal legal battle over whether a monkey can own a selfie is finally over”

Fox News

A crane set to aid in the removal of a controversial Texas statue of Robert E. Lee collided with a semitrailer Sunday night, killing the driver of the truck, police said.

The crane was heading to Lee Park and was attempting to make a left on a green light when the semitrailer ran a red light and plowed into the machine in downtown Dallas, Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune said.

“[The semitrailer driver] was traveling…at a very high rate of speed and failed to yield the right of way, colliding into the crane,” a city news release said.   Continue reading “Robert E. Lee statue removal crane involved in deadly Dallas crash”

Breitbart – by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly

Mexico is sending a top cabinet-level diplomat to illegal alien-friendly California to help Mexican citizens living in the U.S. illegally avoid deportation in a post-DACA environment.

President Trump’s efforts to enforce immigration law and build a wall along the border have galvanized the Mexican government into action, and according to an Associated Press story, its top priority is to protect Mexican citizens living in the United States.  Continue reading “Mexico Sends Top Official to California Help Illegal Aliens Avoid Deportation”

Western Journalism – by Randy DeSoto

Former Obama Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sued the Trump administration on Friday over its decision to phase out the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program.

Napolitano, who created the DACA program, initiated the suit in her capacity as president of the University of California.   Continue reading “Janet Napolitano Sues Trump Over Termination Of DACA”

Breitbart – by Ann Coulter

Congress has tried to sneak through amnesties three times in a little more than a decade. Every time, the American people somehow found out — despite the best efforts of the press — rose up in a rage and killed the proposed bills.

In 2006, President Bush got the brilliant idea to push amnesty on the country. His party was wiped out the very next time voters could get to the polls.   Continue reading “Ann Coulter: We Made Donald %#&@ Trump PRESIDENT — What Else Can We Do?”

Educate Yourself – by ZS Livingston

Hurricane Harvey was named a “potential” hurricane on August 17, 2017 when its wind speed was just 35 mph. In previous years, hurricanes were not named until they reached 75 mph nearing category 1 hurricane speeds. Over the past twelve years, the number and severity of hurricanes have dropped drastically since Katrina. Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey in 2012 as a category 2 to 3 with a tremendous quantity of rain. Hurricane Harvey hit Houston as a borderline category 4 and quickly dropped to a category 1, but stayed off the coast  for nearly a week drawing moisture from the Gulf and dumping it on Houston and vicinity. Record breaking levels of rain …over four feet. Totally unnatural.   Continue reading “Hurricane Harvey: Manmade Mayhem”

Yahoo News

A Texas woman led police officers on a high-speed chase Saturday after slipping out of her handcuffs and driving off in a patrol vehicle, all of which was caught on camera.

Officers from the Lufkin Police Department responded to a 911 call about a possible shoplifter at an Ulta Beauty store on Saturday afternoon. The officers chased down the suspect, 33-year-old Toscha Sponsler of Pollok, and placed her in a patrol vehicle with a seat belt and her hands cuffed behind her back, police said.   Continue reading “Texas woman slips off handcuffs, steals cop car, leads officers on high-speed chase”

Geek Wire – by Taylor Soper

Microsoft is taking a hard line on the Trump administration’s plans to end the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, or DACA, in the next six months, making it clear that it won’t stand idly by if the government seeks to deport any of its employees currently covered by the program.

After already publishing a blog post calling on Congress to prioritize a bill to protect “Dreamers” — about 800,000 children of undocumented immigrants — Microsoft President Brad Smith told NPR on Tuesday that the government is “going to have to go through us to get that person,” referring to any Microsoft employees targeted for deportation as a result of DACA potentially ending.   Continue reading “Microsoft: Government will ‘have to go through us’ to deport workers impacted by Trump’s ‘Dreamers’ repeal”

Yahoo News – by Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For the first time since the “Abscam” scandal 36 years ago, a sitting U.S. senator will go on trial for bribery on Wednesday in a federal courthouse.

Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, is accused of intervening with federal officials on behalf of a wealthy benefactor in exchange for lavish gifts, including luxury vacations and major political contributions.   Continue reading “Senator Bob Menendez faces federal corruption trial”

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WFAA 8

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – ARLINGTON, Texas — Police in Arlington have arrested one man and are looking for another after the bodies of a man and woman were found in a shallow grave near AT&T Stadium.

Detectives say the male victim’s severed head was found just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near a creek along Truman Street, near Sanford Street.

A note reading “La Raza Se Restreta y Faltan 4” was found nearby, according to an arrest warrant. The Star-Telegram reports that loosely translated, the message reads, “The race, or group, must be respected and there’s only four left.”    Continue reading “Police find severed head, then bodies in shallow grave near AT&T Stadium”

Fox News

BROOKFIELD, Wis. –  She thought she had discovered a wallet with $150,000 in it, and she decided “finders keepers,” but what she thought was good fortune turned out to be a huge mistake.

“I was completely, completely fooled,” the woman, who asked that we not reveal her identity said.

The woman said she’s filled with regret.

“I just regret being a part of it,” she said.   Continue reading “Wisconsin woman loses $2,000 after being ‘completely fooled’ by wallet scam”