From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s state-run news agency said Wednesday that Israel attacked a military position in southern Syria, causing material damage.
SANA said Syrian air defenses were able to shoot down some of the Israeli missiles before they reached their target during the early morning attack on al-Harra hill. Continue reading “Syria says Israel hit military position in country’s south”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will become the first state to pay for some adults living in the country illegally to have full health benefits as the solidly liberal bastion continues to resist the policies of Republican President Donald Trump’s administration.
Democrats in the state Legislature reached an agreement Sunday afternoon as part of a broader plan to spend $213 billion of state and federal tax money over the next year. The legislature is expected to approve the deal this week. The agreement means low-income adults between the ages of 19 and 25 living in California illegally would be eligible for California’s Medicaid program, the joint state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. Continue reading “California lawmakers agree to health benefits for illegal immigrants”
The grocery store chain Kroger has recalled three varieties of frozen berries after the Food and Drug Administration discovered some of them tested positive for hepatitis A.
The recall, announced Friday, includes the store’s Private Selection brand of frozen blackberries and two sizes of frozen berry medleys. Continue reading “Kroger recalls frozen berries over hepatitis A concerns”
An official for the U.S. Commerce Department died on Friday in what a preliminary investigation said was a murder-suicide involving her husband, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department reported on Friday.
According to police, officers conducted a welfare check at the couple’s home in Northwest D.C. on Friday. When they arrived they found a man, identified as 51-year-old Jason Rieff, with a handgun who appeared to fire a self-inflicted shot while they were on the scene. Authorities said they also found an unresponsive adult female identified as 45-year-old Lola Gulomova. Continue reading “Commerce Department official killed in apparent murder-suicide: DC police”
Pacific Gas & Electric on Friday said it will cut the electricity for roughly 1,600 customers in parts of Northern California that were considered “areas of extreme fire risk.”
The company unveiled its plan on Twitter, saying that it would start “proactively turning off power” around 6 a.m. on Saturday in parts of Napa, Solano and Yolo counties. The outage is expected to last at least through Saturday afternoon, the company said. Continue reading “PG&E cuts power in Northern California to reduce wildfire risks”
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder was sentenced Friday to 12½ years in prison for the shooting of an unarmed woman who had called 911, and he apologized in court for “taking the life of a perfect person.”
Mohamed Noor was convicted in April of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the July 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia. Noor shot Damond when she approached his squad car in the alley behind her home. Continue reading “Cop who shot 911 caller sentenced to 12½ years in prison”
Critics are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to delay Thursday’s vote on a new measure to halt illegal robocalls and unwanted calls, arguing that the proposal is advancing without any opportunity for public evaluation and could result in the blocking of lawful communications.
Currently, most customers need to opt-in to call-blocking services, either through their wireless provider or a third-party company. The measure from Chairman Ajit Pai, which is expected to be approved by the other commissioners, would clarify that under existing law companies can automatically enroll consumers in those offerings. Continue reading “Under fire from opponents, FCC poised to advance robocall proposal”
A Russian fighter jet buzzed a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane over the Mediterranean Sea three times on Tuesday, acting in an “irresponsible” manner, the U.S. Navy said.
The U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft was flying in international airspace at the time of the intercepts, Navy officials added. Continue reading “Russian jet buzzes US recon plane in Mediterranean, US Navy says”
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco supervisors were expected to consider a proposal Tuesday that could force drug addicts with serious mental illnesses into treatment.
Mayor London Breed and other supporters of the proposal say the move — known as conservatorship — is necessary to help addicts who are often homeless and suffering from a mental illness, making them a danger to themselves. Continue reading “San Francisco considers forced treatment for mentally ill addicts”
(Reuters) – U.S. border agents shot and killed an 23-year-old American man who pulled out a gun and started shooting while trying to drive a truck through a U.S.-Mexican border inspection point at San Diego, police said on Tuesday.
The shooting late Monday sparked panic at the crowded San Ysidro port of entry, where people and vehicles enter the United States from Tijuana, social media video showed. Continue reading “U.S. border agents kill American in gunfight at U.S.-Mexico crossing”
Once shielded by the logic of Silicon Valley’s relentless churn of innovation – which dictated that no reigning tech empire could rule for long before going the way of Yahoo and AOL – tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google have been subjected to intensifying anti-trust pressure – Elizabeth Warren’s “Break up Big Tech”s billboard is only the latest example. Indeed, big tech trust-busting has become one of the few issues in contemporary Washington that garners genuine bipartisan support. Continue reading “Trump Declares War On Silicon Valley: DoJ Launches Google Anti-Monopoly Probe”
The Virginia Beach shooter who killed 12 people and wounded several others in a municipal complex on Friday had submitted his resignation earlier that morning, officials said Sunday.
The gunman, identified as 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock, was an engineer with the city’s public utilities department for 15 years. In a news conference Sunday morning, Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen described the man’s work performance as “satisfactory” with no ongoing issues of discipline. Continue reading “Virginia Beach gunman gave resignation before shooting, was in ‘good standing,’ authorities say”
Twelve people are dead, including the suspected gunman, after a shooting occurred at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday afternoon, according to police.
Six additional victims were taken to the hospital with injuries, Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera told reporters during a press conference Friday evening. An emergency services spokesperson would not comment on the condition of the injured victims. Continue reading “12 dead in Virginia Beach shooting, including suspect: Police”
President Trump on Thursday abruptly announced a new 5 percent tariff on Mexico beginning in early June, saying the levy will “gradually increase” until the ongoing illegal immigration surge at the southern border is “remedied” and illegal migrants “STOP.”
“On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP,” Trump wrote. “The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied, … ..at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.” Continue reading “Trump announces escalating tariffs against Mexico, starting at 5 percent, until illegal immigrants ‘STOP’”
TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) – A New Mexico mayor on Thursday said he and his staff received multiple death threats after they briefly halted construction of a crowd-funded, private border wall by a group that then urged supporters to tell the city to “stop playing games,” and alleged it was tied to drug cartels.
Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea said his email and voicemail were clogged with thousands of messages, some calling him racist slurs and others threatening to “come down and shoot us all.” Continue reading “New Mexico town gets death threats after halting crowd-funded border wall”
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a historic 1,036 migrants in a single group near El Paso on Wednesday morning. The group included more than 60 unaccompanied minors.
Agents patrolling the border near El Paso encountered the largest-ever single group of Central American migrants crossing the border at one time. The previous record migrant group consisted of a group of 430 migrants who crossed the border near El Paso on Monday, according to information obtained from El Paso Sector officials. Prior to that agents apprehended a single group of 424 Central American migrants who crossed the New Mexico border near Antelope Wells one month ago. Continue reading “1000 Migrants Apprehended at Texas Border in Largest Group Ever”
Just hours after US National Security Advisor John Bolton formally accused Tehran of conducing the May 12 tanker “sabotage” attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry has responded that “we are ready for war” amid fears that Washington could still be on a war footing in the Persian Gulf.
“We hope that we can start a dialogue, but we are ready for war,” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told RIA Novosti. Continue reading “US Troops To Be Based In Saudi Arabia, Qatar Against “Iran Threat””
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced Tuesday the creation of a new administrative position intended to help ease the stresses on the system created by the recent influx of asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border.
The new “Border Patrol Processing Coordinator” position is designed to help alleviate the administrative duties that CBP agents have been forced to take on, often at the expense of their traditional enforcement duties, as record numbers of women and children have arrived at the border seeking asylum. Continue reading “Border Patrol to Create New Migrant-Care Position So Agents Can Focus on Enforcement”
Houston Chronicle – by James Osborne
WASHINGTON – With growing volumes of natural gas from Texas and the rest of the United States sold abroad, developers are rushing to build new pipelines connecting oil and gas fields with border crossings and shipping ports.
But a growing number of landowners and environmentalists are fighting those projects at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in federal courts, challenging the notion that pipeline projects carrying gas destined for export are entitled to the same privileges granted infrastructure projects serving American customers. Continue reading “Export pipelines new front in eminent domain fights”
Milwaukee Business Journal – by David Schuyler
Harley-Davidson Inc. has confirmed that its factory in Kansas City, Missouri, had its last day of production on Friday.
The Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer confirmed to KMIZ-TV in Columbia, Missouri, that it has closed the plant as of May 24. The factory’s closure, which was announced in January 2018, resulted in the loss of about 800 jobs.
Continue reading “Harley-Davidson ends production at Kansas City plant”