From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
A deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service was shot Thursday morning in a Rockford, Illinois, hotel by a man he was there to arrest and who is currently on the run, authorities said.
The suspect, Floyd E. Brown, 45, immediately fired on officers at the Extended Stay America hotel off N. Bell School Road. He fled the hotel and is on the run, said Andre Brass of the Rockford Police Department. Continue reading “Manhunt underway for gunman who shot U.S. Marshal at Rockford, Illinois, hotel”
President Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order revoking an Obama-era requirement to publicly report the number of U.S. drone strikes outside of war zones and the number of civilians killed by them.
The new policy does not cover Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, areas of conflict where the United States has troops currently deployed. It only applies to drone strikes carried out by intelligence operatives — i.e., the CIA. The military reports casualties separately in the theaters where it operates. Continue reading “Trump revokes Obama order on reporting civilian deaths in drone strikes”
GRANGER, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old Indiana boy who shot and wounded his state-trooper father has been charged as a juvenile with attempted murder.
The South Bend Tribune reports that St. Joseph County prosecutors filed a petition alleging delinquency for attempted murder, the juvenile equivalent of a criminal charge. Continue reading “Boy, 11, charged after shooting dad, a state trooper”
CNN – by Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores
Washington (CNN)A surge of migrants along the US-Mexico border has US Customs and Border Protection at the “breaking point,” the Trump administration said Tuesday.
More than 76,000 people were apprehended crossing illegally or without proper papers in February, the highest number of “encounters” in any February in the last 12 years, according to CBP. Continue reading “CBP says system at breaking point with more than 76,000 migrants illegally crossing or inadmissible last month”
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — It’s March. It’s cold. That groundhog lied about spring coming soon.
Now, local authorities are looking for him to hold him accountable.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office posted a wanted poster for Punxsutawney Phil due to fraud. Continue reading “Groundhog wanted for fraud after predicting early spring”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a rural Nebraska county’s appeal of a $28 million court judgment aimed at compensating six people wrongfully convicted of a 1985 slaying.
The justices turned away Gage County’s last-ditch effort to avoid the hefty judgment, after a federal appeals court in St. Louis found the award was justified because of egregious law enforcement conduct. In August, the county raised its local property tax levy as high as state law allows to pay off the debt — a move that could become a major drag on the local economy. Continue reading “Justices: Nebraska county owes $28M for wrongful convictions”
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed its first significant public lands conservation bill in years, designating more than one million acres of wilderness for environmental protection and permanently reauthorizing a federal program to pay for conservation measures.
The House passage of the bill, on a vote of 363-62, sends the measure, which was passed by the Senate this month, to the desk of President Trump. The vote Tuesday offered a rare moment of bipartisanship in a divided chamber and a rare victory for environmentalists at a time when the Trump administration is working aggressively to strip away protections on public lands and open them to mining and drilling. Continue reading “In Show of Bipartisanship, House Approves a Sweeping Land Conservation Bill”
A generous Oregon couple stepped in to pay for 45 hotel rooms for the homeless on Tuesday night as snow coated the ground. Amberly Batten and her husband Ryan had come across Facebook posts from volunteers with the local nonprofit Compassion Highway Project and knew they needed to help.
“I had seen some posts about some people who were homeless that were contemplating suicide because they were cold and didn’t have anywhere to go, and that hit something in my core. I had to do something,” Amberly told local NBC affiliate KOBI-TV. Continue reading “Oregon couple pays for 45 hotel rooms to house homeless on snowy night”
San Francisco has become the latest city to push for old marijuana-related criminal offenses to be cleared, with the city’s district attorney announcing that thousands of people will have their cases dismissed and sealed.
In all, 9,362 people will be eligible for dismissal, according to George Gascon, the San Francisco District Attorney. Each of them had received either a misdemeanor possession convictions or felony convictions for possession with intent to sell, sales or transportation of marijuana or the cultivation of more than six marijuana plants. Continue reading “More than 9,000 marijuana convictions dismissed in latest case of cities taking action”
Three months after Israeli police recommended that the country’s attorney general pursue charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his alleged involvement in “Bezeq Walla Affair”, it appears an indictment is finally being handed down on Thursday, much to the longtime leader’s chagrin. Continue reading “Israeli Attorney General Indicts Netanyahu On Charges Of Bribery, Fraud & Breach Of Trust”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed legislation Wednesday to abolish his state’s concealed carry permit requirement.
Oklahoma joins Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Vermont as the 15th state to declare the Second Amendment as an individual’s carry permit. Continue reading “Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Concealed Permit Requirement”
OAKRIDGE, Ore. — With Highway 58 still largely impassible due to issues on the road, the town of Oakridge is cut off from help.
The town has no power, meaning gas stations and grocery stores are closed, and Lane Electric says power may not be restored for another week. Continue reading “Residents of Oakridge stranded with no access to water, food or power”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed gun confiscation into law for New York on Monday.
The law takes effect 180 days from the date of signing.
Buffalo News reports that the law allows that “family members, school administrators and law enforcement officials can seek to get guns confiscated from people deemed by courts to be an ‘extreme risk’ to themselves or others.” Continue reading “Andrew Cuomo Signs Gun Confiscation into Law in NY”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday takes up one of the biggest cases of its current term when it weighs whether a cross-shaped war memorial on public land in Maryland is an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
The so-called Peace Cross, a 40-foot-tall (12 meters) concrete memorial to 49 men from Maryland’s Prince George’s County killed in World War One, is situated on public land at a busy road intersection in Bladensburg just outside Washington. Continue reading “In major religion case, Supreme Court weighs Maryland cross dispute”
An Amtrak train with 183 passengers aboard was stranded in Oregon for over 24 hours.
The Coast Starlight Train 11, traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles, came to a standstill near the tiny town of Oakridge on Sunday evening after hitting a tree that had fallen on the snow-covered tracks, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. Continue reading “Rescue underway for 183 Amtrak passengers stranded in Oregon”
DETROIT —When Nikki Joly’s Jackson home burned down in 2017, some thought the fire was a hate crime against the transgendered, gay-rights activist who had fought for a local anti-discrimination ordinance.
But now, instead of a victim, the 54-year-old is accused of being the perpetrator. Continue reading “Gay rights activist set fire to his own home in fake hate crime, Michigan police say”
Winter Storm Ryan brought more snow to the Pacific Northwest on Monday, causing slippery driving, school closings and thousands of power outages.
The snow fell so hard Monday in parts of Montana that plows had trouble keeping up, according to the Associated Press. With buses struggling to drive on the snowy roads, Butte public schools will have their first closure in at least 20 years on Tuesday, the report added.
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — A Sullivan County deputy is in serious condition, and a suspect is dead, after a shootout with law enforcement Saturday.
Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said deputies arrived for a welfare check at the home of Jackie Pendergrass near 11W and TN-394 Saturday morning, when Pendergrass fired at least one shot. Pendergrass fired again after deputies attempted to communicate with him. Continue reading “Sullivan County deputy in serious condition, suspect dead in shooting”
A Florida mayor, who was accused of practicing medicine without a license, resigned on Friday, one day after he was arrested for allegedly firing shots at deputies who were attempting to serve a search warrant, according to police.
Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted homicide after he allegedly shot at two sheriff’s deputies at his home in central Florida, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said. Continue reading “Florida mayor resigns after arrest for allegedly shooting at police officers”