The Oregonian

President Donald Trump on Tuesday commuted the sentences of two eastern Oregon ranchers serving time in federal prison for setting fire to public land in a case that inflamed their supporters and gave rise to the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The decision will free Dwight Hammond Jr., 76, and son Steven Hammond, 49, convicted in 2012 of arson on Harney County land where they had grazing rights for their cattle. They were ordered back to prison in early 2016 to serve out five-year sentences.   Continue reading “President Trump pardons Oregon ranchers whose plight led to refuge occupation”

SHTF Plan – by Mac Slavo

The bizarre “sonic attacks” against diplomats began in Cuba, but have now spread to other countries with over 200 illnesses reported. It all started in the fall of 2016 when diplomats at the United States Embassy in Cuba reported some hearing loss and mild brain damage after hearing unusual and puzzling sounds.

SHTFPlan originally detailed the symptoms experienced by US diplomats in Cuba back in September of 2017.   Continue reading “Strange ‘Sonic Attacks’ Against Diplomats Reach Epic Proportions”

Washington Times – by Stephen Dinan

Every illegal immigrant parent whose child was separated at the border has now been able to at least speak by telephone, the government said in a new court filing Friday.

And some parents have already been moved to new detention facilities to put them closer to where their children are being held, preparing for final unification and, in many cases, release from custody.   Continue reading “ICE to set free illegal immigrants to comply with judge’s family reunification order”

Yahoo News

Donald Trump’s personal driver for more than 25 years says the billionaire real estate developer didn’t pay him overtime and raised his salary twice in 15 years, clawing back the second raise by cutting off his health benefits.

Noel Cintron, who is listed in public records as a registered Republican, sued the Trump Organization for about 3,300 of overtime that he says he worked in the past six years. He’s not allowed to sue for overtime prior to that due to the statute of limitations.   Continue reading “Trump’s Personal Driver for 25 Years Sues for Unpaid Overtime”

Herald & News – by Tess Novotny

FORT KLAMATH — The Oregon Department of Transportation revoked a permit it gave to the Civic Improvement Club of Fort Klamath to display American flags along the town’s highway.

The revocation includes a grace period for flags to stay up until July 25. It follows a clash among community members over whether placement of the flags was appropriate.   Continue reading “Flag Flap: ODOT pulls flag permit for Fort Klamath”

AP – by Ken Ritter

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge’s decision not to let federal prosecutors reopen the criminal case against Cliven Bundy, his sons and supporters in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents could amount to the final act in the case, a lawyer for the Nevada rancher and states’ rights activist said Friday.

“It’s the final nail in the coffin, and completely expected,” attorney Bret Whipple said of the ruling in the criminal case that was filed in 2016 against 19 defendants and collapsed last December in a mistrial due to “flagrant misconduct” by prosecutors.   Continue reading “Judge Rejects Government Bid to Reopen Activist Rancher Case”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

While the headline prints in today’s jobs report were solid with the exception of hourly earnings, which disappointed consensus expectations on both a monthly and annual basis, however not too dramatically earning the report a “goldilocks” name, a look below the surface reveals at least one ugly side to today’s jobs report: all the job gains were for part-time workers, while full-time employment dipped modestly.

In June, the number of part-time workers rose by 145K to 27.028MM, while the full-time workers declined by a modest 89K to 128.658MM.   Continue reading “June Jobs Increase: All Part-Time Workers As Full-Time Jobs Drop”

Fox News

A Connecticut man who was assaulted by three juveniles while at work has been sentenced to prison for stabbing one of the attackers.

The Connecticut Post reports 21-year-old Jeffrey Sumpter of Bridgeport received 18 months in jail Monday at a Stamford courthouse.  Continue reading “Connecticut assault victim gets 18 months in jail for stabbing attacker”

Yahoo News

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that the U.S. Army has moved in recent weeks to discharge immigrant recruits and reservists who enlisted through a program that promised them a path to citizenship.

Some of these service members say they weren’t told why they were being discharged. Others say the Army told them they’d been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because their background checks were pending.  Continue reading “US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits”

The Hill

In the ongoing saga between the United States and Chinese telecom giant ZTE, President Donald Trump has directed Secretary Wilbur Ross and the U.S. Department of Commerce to grant a temporary, 30-day reprieve for ZTE, enabling it to procure vital American parts and software so it may resume its operations.

In essence, this latest action is nothing less than a stay of execution. The seven-year export ban imposed by the Commerce Department’s Security and Enforcement Bureau on April 18 plunged the company into crisis resulting in the immediate shutdown of its assembly lines and curtailment of its operations.   Continue reading “Trump gave the giant Chinese cellphone maker a stay of execution”

Reuters

JAKARTA (Reuters) – The captain of a sinking Indonesian ferry managed to steer his ship onto a reef to enable the evacuation of more than 100 passengers, but 31 people drowned as the vessel floundered in stormy seas, officials said on Wednesday.

The latest ferry disaster in Indonesia, which happened on Tuesday near Sulawesi island, came two weeks after an overcrowded ferry sank on Lake Toba in Sumatra, one of the world’s deepest volcanic lakes, with the death of more than 200 people.   Continue reading “Captain of sinking Indonesian ferry sails onto reef; 31 dead”

Patch – by Daniel Hampton

FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ — When a 72-year-old Fountain Hills man tried to put his 92-year-old mother in an assisted living home, she pulled out a pistol hidden in her robe and shot him to death, authorities said. Now, she’s been charged with first-degree murder.

After learning of her son’s plans, Anna Mae Blessing hid a pair of handguns in her robe and confronted him in his bedroom at their home Monday, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. The home is located near North La Montana Drive and East El Lago Boulevard.   Continue reading “Arizona Mom, 92, Kills Son Over Nursing Home Plans: Authorities”

The Oregonian

PENDLETON — A rural Oregon county will be without law enforcement officers after a sheriff and his deputies announced their departures.

Wheeler County Sheriff Chris Humphreys, a former Portland police officer dogged by controversy, notified county officials last month of his plans to leave, giving officials up to six months to find a replacement, the East Oregonian reported.   Continue reading “Departing sheriff, deputies leave rural Oregon county without officers”

The Federalist – by Christopher Jacobs

Just when you think the move for government control of health care couldn’t get any worse, somehow it manages to. Last Wednesday, the District of Columbia City Council approved a requirement for all DC residents to purchase health insurance. The mandate would take effect in January, right when the federal mandate penalty drops to $0, as per last year’s tax law.

The D.C. mandate contains three elements that make it just as bad as, if not worse than, the federal mandate it is intended to replace. Continue reading “DC Passes Law Requiring People To Buy Health Insurance Or Have Their Property Seized”

Fox News

Rescue workers in Thailand who successfully located the 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave for 10 days are now racing against time to get them out before water levels rise.

Rescuers had earlier suggested that they would wait for water levels to drop, which could take until October, but heavy rains forecast for later this week could flood the cave even further, meaning the boys, ages 11-16, face the prospect of having to move quicker than anticipated.   Continue reading “Thai youth soccer team could have to dive out of caves or wait months to be rescued”

Fox News

Nineteen senior investigators at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have called for the government agency to be disbanded in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The massive law enforcement agency, which employs more than 20,000 people and was created in 2003 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is responsible for both homeland security investigations (known as HSI) and for the deportation of undocumented migrants (known as ERO, for enforcement and removal operations).  Continue reading “19 ICE investigators call for agency to be disbanded in letter amid ‘abolish ICE’ protests”

Fox News

At least 41 cops have left the Seattle Police Department this year, many of them reportedly citing frustration with the city’s politics and a perceived lack of support from local officials.

Though documents showed some officers left the force due to retirement, a source in the department told Q13 FOX some 20 officers left and sought employment at other law enforcement agencies.   Continue reading “Seattle cops flee the force in ‘mass exodus’ due to frustrations with city’s politics, report says”

Free Thought Project – by Rachel Blevins

Annapolis, Maryland – Five people were killed in another mass shooting after a man opened fire at the Capital Gazette newspaper on Thursday afternoon, in what is being called a “targeted attack” by a deranged individual who reportedly went as far as mutilating his own fingers in order to keep police from identifying him.

Fueling conspiracy theories online, just one week before the shooting at the newspaper’s headquarters, the Capital Gazette reported that “Annapolis Police will be conducting an active shooter drill.”   Continue reading “Days Before Shooting, Capital Gazette Reported Police Would Be Conducting Mass Shooting Drills”

Yahoo News

A man who police say opened fire at a Maryland newspaper office Thursday, killing five and injuring two others, had a long, acrimonious history with the newspaper, including a lawsuit and years of harassment of its journalists on Twitter.

Jarrod Warren Ramos, swiftly arrested by police after the attack, was charged Friday with five counts of first-degree murder.   Continue reading “Shooting suspect had bitter history with Maryland newspaper”