From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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-Tribune, according 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”
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”
(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.”
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”
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”
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””
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”
Three illegal immigrants were indicted for the murder of a whistleblower in Georgia who reported that one of the immigrants ran a scheme to employ other illegal immigrants and defrauded a tree service company.
Brothers Pablo Rangel-Rubio, 49, and Juan Rangel-Rubio, 42, both residents of Rincon, Ga., and Higinio Perez-Bravo, 49, of Savannah, were charged on Thursday, said Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. Continue reading “3 illegal immigrants indicted for murder of American whistleblower: report”
One of California’s largest utilities company was accused Friday of falsifying safety documents for the state’s natural gas pipelines for years, even after it was blamed for a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people.
An investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission found that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. had allegedly falsified data from 2012 to 2017 because it lacked enough employees to find and mark natural gas pipelines. Continue reading “California utility, under scrutiny over massive wildfire, falsified pipeline safety records for years: regulators”
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake was reported in Tennessee early Wednesday, officials said.
The quake hit about six miles north of Decatur around 4:15 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The shaking was felt by residents as far away as Atlanta — about 149 miles south of the epicenter. Continue reading “Earthquake, magnitude 4.4, rattles Tennessee, Georgia”
Two groups of Central American migrants marched to the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana on Tuesday with a list of demands, with one group delivering an ultimatum to the Trump administration: either let them in the U.S. or pay them $50,000 each to go home, a report said.
Among other demands were that deportations be halted and that asylum seekers be processed faster and in greater numbers, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Continue reading “Migrant group demand Trump either let them in or pay them each $50G to turn around: report”
A sheriff’s deputy and two officials from the Texas attorney general’s office were shot while trying to serve a felony warrant at a home in Houston, authorities said.
The three victims were hospitalized but are “are awake and alert” and expected to survive, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted. Continue reading “3 law enforcement officers shot while trying to serve warrant: Sheriff”