From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
VOA – by Cindy Saine, Ayaz Gul
STATE DEPARTMENT / ISLAMABAD — As the United States and Russia clash on Syria, another war-torn nation could play out as a renewed theater for the U.S.-Russia rivalry: Afghanistan.
Thursday, U.S. forces dropped what was being called the largest non-nuclear bomb on a reported Islamic State militant complex in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. Continue reading “US Wary of Russian Role in Afghanistan as Moscow Holds Talks”
The Lansing City Council backed out of its decision to declare itself a sanctuary city Wednesday evening, holding a vote to rescind the barely week-old resolution.
After hours of public comment, the council voted 5-2 to rescind the resolution containing a reference to sanctuary city passed April 3. Council member Jessica Yorko was not present for the vote. Continue reading “Lansing, Michigan no longer a sanctuary city”
New York Times – by Jacey Fortin
A Michigan doctor has been accused of performing genital cutting on two 7-year-old girls at a medical clinic, in a case that federal officials believe to be the first prosecution under a law banning the brutal practice.
The doctor, Jumana Nagarwala, 44, was arrested on Wednesday on charges that she performed the genital cutting at an unnamed medical clinic in Livonia, Mich.; transported minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and lied to federal agents. Continue reading “Michigan Doctor Is Accused of Genital Cutting of 2 Girls”
Wisconsin authorities are investigating a letter sent in the mail that made unspecific but violent threats against churches in Waukesha County. The author of the letter claims to be Joseph Jakubowski, the fugitive accused of robbing a Wisconsin gun shop and sending a manifesto to President Donald Trump.
The Waukesha Sheriff’s office is currently determining the authenticity of the letter, which threatened violence against a number of unspecific churches on Easter Sunday. Continue reading “Wisconsin police investigating letter threatening Easter church attacks”
Two owners of allegedly defective Remington Model 700 rifles say they will seek to block a landmark class action settlement approved by a federal judge last month, arguing the agreement does not go far enough. That means the fate of as many as 7.5 million allegedly unsafe guns is once again in question.
The settlement covers the iconic Model 700 and a dozen other Remington models with similar designs. In 2010, CNBC investigated allegations Remington covered up a deadly design defect that allows the guns to fire without the trigger being pulled. Remington has steadfastly denied the allegations and maintains that the guns are safe, but said it was settling the class action case to avoid prolonged litigation. Remington has agreed to replace the triggers in millions of the guns free of charge, and provide product vouchers for models it says are too old to be retrofitted. Continue reading “Remington rifle settlement in question as gun owners appeal”
The US military has used its GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed “the mother of all bombs,” for the first time in combat. The US Air Force used it in Afghanistan to target Islamic State tunnels and personnel.
The 21,000-pound (9,525 kg) bomb was dropped in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. Continue reading “US drops largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan, first time used in combat”
(Reuters) – A groundbreaking black jurist who became the first Muslim woman to serve as a U.S. judge was found dead in New York’s Hudson River on Wednesday, police said.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a 65-year-old associate judge of New York’s highest court, was found floating off Manhattan’s west side at about 1:45 p.m. EDT (1545 GMT), a police spokesman said. Continue reading “United States’ first female Muslim judge found dead in Hudson River”
Free Thought Project – by Jack Burns
Americans are up in arms over the alleged gas attack in Syria. Although there was no investigation, and many high-profile individuals have called it a sham, the US has pinned the blame on Syrian president Bashar Al Assad. So, we thought it would be a good idea to remind our fellow Americans of an occasion where the federal government got away with gassing its own people, an action which, consequently, led to the deaths of 86 men, women, and children. Continue reading “As US Bombs Syria, Americans Forgot Govt Used Chemical Weapons to Kill Children in Texas”
Russia blocked a Western effort at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to condemn last week’s deadly gas attack in Syria and push Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad to cooperate with international inquiries into the incident.
It was the eighth time during Syria’s six-year-old civil war that Moscow has used its veto power on the Security Council to shield Assad’s government. Continue reading “Russia blocks U.N. Security Council condemnation of Syria attack”
A U.K. mother is behind bars after driving while impaired at high speed into a roundabout with her 19-month-old son in the back seat.
The collision was so violent that her compact sport utility vehicle was launched nearly 5 metres into the air, landing on its roof before grinding to a stop 50 metres up the road. Continue reading “Caught on cam: Drunk U.K. driver flips car in the air with her baby on board”
With everyone putting down new and/or revised “red lines“, be it on Syria or North Korea, it was now China’s turn to reveal its “red” or rather “bottom line”, and in a harshly worded editorial titled “The United States Must Not Choose a Wrong Direction to Break the DPRK Nuclear Deadlock on Wednesday” Beijing warned it would attack North Korea’s facilities producing nuclear bombs, effectively engaging in an act of war, if North Korea crosses China’s “bottom line.” Continue reading “China Threatens To Bomb North Korea’s Nuclear Facilities If It Crosses Beijing’s “Bottom Line””
Sent in by Norm.
Out of all of the animals in the world, deers may be the biggest jerks of them all.
Sure, there are spiders, snakes, and bears ready and willing to harm humans in just about every corner of the world, but deers just hop around all willy nilly, dashing into traffic and windows without a care in the world. Continue reading “Rogue deer tackles innocent man in a parking lot”
Yahoo News – by Kavitha Surana, Foreign Policy Magazine
During his campaign for president, Donald Trump repeatedly called for rewriting the U.S.-Mexico relationship. He peppered Mexicans with nasty stereotypes (“criminals,” “rapists,” and “bad hombres”), advocated ripping up the North American Free Trade Agreement, and promised to build a “big beautiful wall” on the border — on Mexico’s dime.
Now some prominent Mexicans are raising their own quibbles about the border. They are making the case that Mexico should return to its 1848 boundaries, before the United States snatched large chunks of their territory, including most of California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona, during the Mexican-American war. Continue reading “The Other Dispute on the U.S.-Mexico Border”
An Ohio man accused of raping a 10-year-old girl and setting a fire that killed her and her grandparents jumped to his death from a fourth-floor courthouse balcony on Monday before he could face trial, reports say.
Robert Seman Jr., 48, was walking through the Mahoning County Courthouse with police in Youngstown after a pre-trial hearing when he quickly ran from the officers and jumped over a banister at around 9:30 a.m., WKBN reports. Continue reading “Ohio Man Jumps to His Death in Courthouse Before Trial for Raping Girl, 10, and Killing Her and Grandparents”
Washington, 10 April (Argus) — President Donald Trump’s attempts to impose a “Buy American” policy for oil and gas pipelines is worrying energy companies that say it could delay the very infrastructure the administration is trying to support.
US midstream company Energy Transfer Partners says the policy would “severely delay project schedules” and reduce pipeline quality. Magnolia LNG, which is considering building a $4.5bn gas export facility in Louisiana, says it has created uncertainty that could slow final investments. And an energy industry coalition is warning of long construction delays and project cancellations. Continue reading “Oil, gas industry concerned over requirement to buy American steel, pipe”
A pink moon is heading our way Tuesday – but those expecting to see a literal pink sphere sailing above us in the sky may be disappointed.
Any full moon that occurs in April is called a ‘Pink Moon’ simply because of the pink flowers, such as North America’s wild ground phlox, which blossom in April and are seen to symbolize new beginnings. Continue reading “2017’s ‘Pink Moon’: Here’s what it means”
KGW 8 News – by Kristena Hansen
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon state lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would shield the names, birthdates and other identifying information of marijuana users from being accessed by federal drug agents amid worries of heightened enforcement.
The bill was approved 53-5 by the Oregon House on Monday and is largely in response to mixed signals about the new White House administration’s stance on the federal marijuana prohibition. Continue reading “Oregon set to shield marijuana user data from US officials”
Seoul (AFP) – North Korea denounced the US deployment of a naval strike group to the region Tuesday, warning it is ready for “war” as Washington tightens the screws on the nuclear-armed state.
The strike group — which includes the Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier USS Carl Vinson — cancelled a planned trip to Australia this weekend, heading to the Korean peninsula instead in a show of force. Continue reading “North Korea vows response to ‘reckless’ US Navy move”