From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
NEW YORK (Reuters) – For the first time since the “Abscam” scandal 36 years ago, a sitting U.S. senator will go on trial for bribery on Wednesday in a federal courthouse.
Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, is accused of intervening with federal officials on behalf of a wealthy benefactor in exchange for lavish gifts, including luxury vacations and major political contributions. Continue reading “Senator Bob Menendez faces federal corruption trial”
Sent to us by a reader.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – ARLINGTON, Texas — Police in Arlington have arrested one man and are looking for another after the bodies of a man and woman were found in a shallow grave near AT&T Stadium.
Detectives say the male victim’s severed head was found just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area near a creek along Truman Street, near Sanford Street.
A note reading “La Raza Se Restreta y Faltan 4” was found nearby, according to an arrest warrant. The Star-Telegram reports that loosely translated, the message reads, “The race, or group, must be respected and there’s only four left.” Continue reading “Police find severed head, then bodies in shallow grave near AT&T Stadium”
BROOKFIELD, Wis. – She thought she had discovered a wallet with $150,000 in it, and she decided “finders keepers,” but what she thought was good fortune turned out to be a huge mistake.
“I was completely, completely fooled,” the woman, who asked that we not reveal her identity said.
The woman said she’s filled with regret.
“I just regret being a part of it,” she said. Continue reading “Wisconsin woman loses $2,000 after being ‘completely fooled’ by wallet scam”
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced the “orderly wind down” of the Obama-era program that gave a deportation reprieve to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children – putting pressure on Congress to come up with a replacement.
The Department of Homeland Security formally rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, with a six-month delay for current recipients. According to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, the interval is meant to give Congress “time to deliver on appropriate legislative solutions.” Continue reading “Trump administration ends DACA, with 6-month delay”
Bloomberg – by Jennifer A Dlouhy
The Trump administration is easing environmental regulations and opening up territory for drilling as part of the president’s bid to unleash the “vast energy wealth” of the U.S. Yet Donald Trump’s push to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement could have the opposite effect.
As Nafta negotiations resume Friday, oil industry leaders are desperate to preserve the 23-year-old trade deal that drove a North American oil and gas renaissance and paved the way for $34 billion worth of energy exports to Canada and Mexico last year. Continue reading “Oil Firms That Cheered Regulatory Cuts Are Quaking on Nafta”
Salt Lake Tribune – by Brian Maffly
Federal land managers are moving forward with a proposed sale of controversial oil and gas leases in Utah’s San Rafael Swell and on the doorstep of Dinosaur National Monument, the agency announced Friday.
The move comes despite misgivings from Uintah County and National Park Service officials, who fear that energy development would detract from Dinosaur’s scenic allure.
Gov. Gary Herbert had asked the BLM to “re-evaluate” three leases bordering the Utah half of Dinosaur. BLM agreed to “defer” two of the leases, but a third is to be sold along with 74 others at the BLM’s quarterly auction to be held online Dec. 11.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce the end of an Obama-era program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children stay and contribute to the country, sources told Fox News late Sunday.
An official announcement to the end of the program will be on Tuesday, the sources said. After the announcement, Congress will have a six-month window to act.
The program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was established in 2012. DACA, as it is usually referred to, protected young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children without legal status. Continue reading “DACA: Trump expected to end ‘Dreamers’ immigration program”
City officials in San Diego declared a public health emergency Friday over an outbreak of hepatitis A that has been linked to at least 15 deaths and 400 hospitalizations.
The liver disease outbreak started last November, with the homeless population affected most. The emergency declaration will help the city access state funds and provide legal protection for new sanitation measures, the Union-Tribune reported. Continue reading “San Diego declares health emergency to combat hepatitis A outbreak”
Huffington Post – by Carla Herreria
The police officer seen in a viral video arresting a nurse in Salt Lake City is now under criminal investigation, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill ordered a criminal investigation Friday into the actions of Detective Jeff Payne who aggressively arrested nurse Alex Wubbels on July 26 for refusing to draw blood from a severely injured patient.
Continue reading “Officer Who Arrested Utah Nurse In Viral Video Is Now Under Criminal Investigation”
In a major win for private property rights, a federal judge ruled that Indiana can no longer seize vehicles under its controversial civil forfeiture laws, which allow police to confiscate property without filing criminal charges. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled that Indiana’s laws were unconstitutional because they failed to provide a timely hearing for the property owner to contest the seizure.
The decision comes just days after Hoosier lawmakers held a summer study committee to discuss forfeiture reform, and less than a month after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new policy to expand police seizures nationwide. Continue reading “Federal Judge Rules Indiana Seizing Cars With Civil Forfeiture Is Unconstitutional”
McClatchy DC – by Anita Kumar, Franco Ordoñez
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to end an Obama-era program that shielded young people from deportation, but he will likely let the immigrants known as Dreamers stay in the United States until their work permits run out, according to multiple people familiar with the policy negotiation.
That plan would allow Trump to fulfill a campaign promise to end one of Barack Obama’s signature initiatives while also giving the president a way to keep the pledge he made after Inauguration Day to treat the Dreamers with “great heart,” said sources on both sides of the issue who are involved in the discussions.
Continue reading “Trump expected to halt Obama’s program but allow some Dreamers to stay temporarily”
Sent to us by a reader.
When it comes figuring out how to invest your money, one of the best things you can do is to simply watch what other more successful people are doing. Investors who have made a lot of money, either did so by being lucky, or more likely, they have a long track record of predicting events, identifying trends, and avoiding economic crashes. Whether they’re really savvy or they’re just elitists with access to insider information that the public isn’t privy to, they know something that we don’t. And that something has made them very rich. Continue reading “Rothschild Just Pulled A Lot Of Money Out Of The US: “Period of Monetary Accommodation May Well Be Coming To An End.””
Washington Times – by Andrea Noble
The country’s sheriffs are nearing an agreement with the federal Department of Homeland Security that would let them act as contractors to hold illegal immigrants in jail for pickup, hoping they have found a way to handle the increasingly tricky issue of immigration detention requests.
Rather than holding immigrants on their own authority, the sheriffs say, they would be acting on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would pay to have detainees kept until federal officers can get them. Continue reading “Sheriffs near agreement to act as contractors, hold illegal immigrants for feds”
CROSBY, Texas — A flooded chemical plant near Houston exploded twice early Thursday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and triggering a fire that the firm plans to let “burn itself out.”
Arkema Group, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, had warned Wednesday that the plant would catch fire and explode at some point — adding that there was nothing to stop it.
The plant in Crosby, Texas — about 20 miles northeast of Houston — was inundated by more than 40 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey and has been without electricity since Sunday. Continue reading “Crosby, Texas, Chemical Plant Explodes Twice, Arkema Group Says”
The FBI is declining to turn over files related to its investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails by arguing a lack of public interest in the matter.
Ty Clevenger, an attorney in New York City, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in March of 2016 asking for a variety of documents from the FBI and the Justice Department, including correspondence exchanged with Congress about the Clinton email investigation. Continue reading “FBI shuts down request for files on Hillary Clinton by citing lack of public interest”
After receiving heavy criticism for keeping its doors closed while thousands remained without shelter, Pastor Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch will open its doors on Tuesday to residents who have been displaced by the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.
“We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need,” reads a statement by church spokesman and Osteen’s father-in-law Donald Iloff from Monday, according to CNN. Continue reading “Joel Osteen’s Houston Megachurch To House Displaced When ‘Shelters Reach Capacity’”