From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
A federal judge on Friday ordered a total restart of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, in a hit to the Trump administration.
The administration last year announced its plan to phase out the program, which provides a level of amnesty to certain illegal immigrants, many of whom came to the U.S. as children. Continue reading “DACA program should be fully restarted, federal judge rules”
A curious and credible Tweet from the Director of the Nuclear Information Project for the Federation of American Scientists, Hans Kristensen, on August 1, 2018 at 5:14 PM Washington D.C. time claimed that a, “Meteor explodes with 2.1 kilotons force 43 km above missile early warning radar at Thule Air Base.”
The Tweet apparently originated from Twitter user “Rocket Ron”, a “Space Explorer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory”. The original Tweet read, “A fireball was detected over Greenland on July 25, 2018 by US Government sensors at an altitude of 43.3 km. The energy from the explosion is estimated to be 2.1 kilotons.” Rocket Ron’s Tweet hit in the afternoon on Jul. 31. Continue reading “Mystery meteor reportedly makes 2.1 kiloton explosion above US military base — and the Air Force said nothing”
Amazon took down the website of a gun rights coalition Wednesday after they posted the blueprints for 3D-printed weapons online.
CodeisFreeSpeech.com was removed by Amazon Web Services after receiving a notice on the downloadable plans for “The Liberator” 3D-printed handgun, according to the New York Daily News. Continue reading “Amazon removes gun activists’ website after 3D-printed weapons blueprints were posted”
In a landmark decision, a federal court ruled that the Albuquerque’s civil forfeiture program “violates procedural due process” because it forced hundreds of property owners to prove their own innocence. With his ruling spanning over 100 pages, Judge James Browning also found that the city’s “forfeiture officials have an unconstitutional institutional incentive to prosecute forfeiture cases,” since the program has “de facto power over its spending…the more revenue it raises, the more revenue it can spend.”
Thanks to this incentive to police for profit, the city’s forfeiture program “generated $11.8 million in revenue ‘in the form of forfeitures, settlements and fees,” between fiscal 2009 and 2016. The program was so lucrative, revenues actually exceeded expenses for four of those years. Continue reading “Judge Rules Albuquerque Civil Forfeiture Law Unconstitutional, Upholds Innocent Until Proven Guilty”
Doctors have been forced to amputate a man’s legs and parts of his hands after he suffered sepsis believed to be caused by being licked by a dog.
Greg Manteufel, 48, was exhibiting flu-like symptoms and becoming delirious when bruises began appearing across his face and body. His wife, Dawn Manteufel, watched the bruises grow as she rushed him to the hospital, later telling local news outlet WITI it “looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat.” Continue reading “Man has limbs amputated after being licked by a dog”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked the imminent release of blueprints for 3-D printed guns, hours before they were set to hit the internet, after several states sued to halt publication of designs to make weapons that security screening may not detect.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle, Washington, said the blueprints’ publication could cause irreparable harm to U.S. citizens. The decision blocked a settlement President Donald Trump’s administration had reached with the Texas-based company, which planned to put files online on Wednesday. Continue reading “U.S. judge halts release of blueprints for 3-D printed guns”
Concerned about the potential for readily available downloadable instructions to make 3D-printed guns, a group of state attorneys general has filed suit to block a Trump administration settlement with an organization Defense Distributed, a Texas non-profit. Until June 29, the federal government had maintained that the printer files and tutorials violated firearms export laws.
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson leads a group of eight states and Washington, D.C., in suing the Trump administation in case filed in federal court in Seattle. Ferguson alleges that the feds violated both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Tenth Amendment. Besides Washington, attorney generals in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania have joined in. Continue reading “States Sue to Block Downloads of 3D-Printed Gun Instructions”
Hundreds of gun owners in Florida have been ordered to give up their guns under a new law that took effect after the deadly Parkland shooting in February, according to a report published Monday.
The Risk Protection Order, signed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott just three weeks after a gunman killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas, aims to temporarily remove weapons from gun owners who have been deemed by a judge to possibly be a threat to themselves or others. Continue reading “More than 450 people in Florida ordered to give up guns under new law, report says”
REDDING, Calif. (AP) — An explosive wildfire tore through two small Northern California communities Thursday before reaching the city of Redding, killing a bulldozer operator on the fire lines, burning three firefighters, destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of terrified residents to flee.
Flames swept through the communities of Shasta and Keswick before jumping the Sacramento River and reaching Redding, a city of about 92,000 people and the largest in the region. Continue reading “Wildfire Jumps Sacramento River, Burning Homes, People in Redding”
The case against indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita rests on officer accountability, a federal prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.
Astarita stands accused of falsely denying that he fired two shots at the truck of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the spokesman for the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. Continue reading “Prosecutor says case against indicted FBI agent is all about ‘integrity’”
BOSTON (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Wednesday weighed whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to carry guns in public for self-defense in a lawsuit challenging the firearm licensing policies of two Massachusetts municipalities including Boston.
The arguments before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston marked the latest instance in which a federal appeals court has weighed the extent the Constitution’s Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms outside of a person’s home. Continue reading “U.S. court weighs challenge to Boston gun restrictions”
A Trader Joe’s employee killed during a crime-spree in Los Angeles last weekend was struck by a police bullet — not the suspect’s bullet — Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said at a news conference Tuesday.
Moore said the officers are “devastated” that Trader Joe’s employee Melyda Corado, 27, died from their efforts to stop the gunman. Continue reading “Slain Trader Joe’s employee was hit by police bullet during suspect’s crime-spree: ‘I am truly sorry,’ says police chief”
Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet that penetrated Israeli airspace on Tuesday, the Israeli army said. According to the IDF spokesperson, the Russian-made Sukhoi was under surveillance when it entered some two kilometers into Israeli airspace and was shot down by two Patriot missiles. Continue reading “Israel Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jet”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday that he pardoned seven people under threat of deportation to protect his state’s immigrant communities as President Trump continues to “ramp up deportation of New Yorkers to advance his political agenda of hate and division.”
“At a time when President Trump and the Federal government are waging a war on our immigrant communities, New York stands firm in our belief that our diversity is our greatest strength,” Cuomo said in a statement obtained by ABC News. Continue reading “Cuomo pardons seven people under threat of deportation”
CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – An argument about a handicapped parking space led to a deadly shooting outside a Clearwater convenience store Thursday that was witnessed by the deceased man’s 5-year-old son.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. Detectives are investigating to determine if the case meets the criteria of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Continue reading “Stand Your Ground? Handicapped parking feud leads to deadly Clearwater shooting”
WATFORD CITY, N.D. – A newborn baby was killed and more than two dozen people were injured when a tornado whipped through a North Dakota oil patch city overnight, overturning recreational vehicles and demolishing more than 100 structures, officials said Tuesday.
The storm moved through Watford City, in the northwestern part of the state, shortly after midnight, hitting an RV park the hardest, according to sheriff’s officials. About 20 of the reported 28 injured were staying at the Prairie View RV Park where high winds overturned some campers and damaged mobile homes. Continue reading “Baby killed, dozens hurt when tornado hits North Dakota city”
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”
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”
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”