From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
As the economy cycles down through fall, there is new, alarming data by professional services firm BDO USA LLP, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, that indicates retail bankruptcies continue to rise as store closures have already outpaced all of 2018.
BDO warned that the recent acceleration of the retail apocalypse was primarily due to last year’s weak holiday shopping season. Continue reading “Retail Apocalypse: 2019 Store Closures Already Surpass 2018”
Senate conservatives are warning President Trump and their own leaders to tread carefully in the gun control debate and caution they risk a political backlash by striking a deal with Democrats to expand background checks for firearms sales.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday said if Republicans strike a deal with Democrats to require all firearms sales over the internet or at gun shows to go through background checks, they would demoralize their conservative base ahead of next year’s presidential election. Continue reading “Conservatives offer stark warning to Trump, GOP on background checks”
A Houston police officer is in serious condition and one suspect is dead after a violent crime spree came to an end in a shootout just a mile away from the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night.
The injured officer, 29, was still in surgery at Memorial Hermann hospital Friday morning after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds during a shootout on the 3900 block of Tristan at Scott – just a mile south of Texas Southern University where 10 Democrats were rallying for stricter gun laws. Continue reading “Houston police officer near Democrat debate shot, priest assaulted in violent crime spree”
Washington Examiner – by Alana Goodman, Steven Nelson
One of the people President Trump honored for his heroism during a mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart last month was arrested by the Secret Service during his visit to the White House on Monday due to an outstanding criminal warrant, law enforcement officials told the Washington Examiner.
Police say his tale of heroics does not match video evidence. Chris Grant, 50, was shot in the ribs and a kidney during the Aug. 3 rampage that claimed 22 lives. He was not present for a White House ceremony Monday, but his mother Minnie Grant, 82, accepted a signed certificate on his behalf. Continue reading “Secret Service arrested El Paso shooting ‘hero’ as he was about to be honored by Trump at White House”
New Jersey, a state already armed with some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, got even tougher on the firearms industry Tuesday with a new order by Gov. Phil Murphy.
An executive order signed by Murphy also vowed to investigate financial institutions that work for New Jersey to ensure those banks and companies are striving to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. Continue reading “What New Jersey’s New Rules for Gun Makers and Sellers Means”
In a major win for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court issued an order late Wednesday ending all injunctions that had blocked the White House’s ban on asylum for anyone trying to enter the U.S. by traveling through a third country, such as Mexico, without seeking protection there. Continue reading “Supreme Court allows Trump asylum restrictions to take effect, ending 9th Circuit injunctions”
State Impact Pennsylvania – by Susan Philips
A federal appeals court has blocked PennEast pipeline company from condemning state-owned land for its proposed 116-mile long line that would ship Marcellus Shale gas from northeast Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision, saying that condemning public land violates the 11th Amendment of the Constitution. Continue reading “Federal appeals court strikes blow to PennEast pipeline project”
The Hill – by Chris Mills Rodrigo
A federal judge in California on Monday reinstated a ban on a Trump administration policy that would restrict migrants’ ability to apply for asylum at the southern border.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar had issued a nationwide injunction in July blocking the rule, which would make most asylum-seekers who pass through another country before reaching the U.S. ineligible for asylum, with exceptions for victims of trafficking and migrants who have been denied asylum in the countries they traveled through. Continue reading “Judge reinstates block on Trump’s asylum ban for migrants at southern border”
Six of the seven people charged in the stabbing death of a man in Maryland in July have been identified by federal officials as being part of the MS-13 gang and in the country illegally, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Baltimore County Police Department announced Tuesday that seven suspects, including a 16-year-old charged as an adult, were charged with killing 21-year-old Daniel Alejandro Alvarado Cuellar. Continue reading “6 MS-13 gang members, illegal immigrants involved in deadly Maryland stabbing, ICE says”
Peace talks between the U.S. and leaders from Afghanistan and the Taliban have been called off, after the Taliban admitted they were behind a deadly bombing in Kabul last week that resulted in the death of a U.S. soldier.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this Sunday the Taliban “overreached” and showed that they cannot be trusted to move forward with a peace process at this point in time. Continue reading “Peace talks with Afghans, Taliban called off after Trump cancels secret meeting”
Texas governor Greg Abbott on Thursday issued eight executive orders aimed at preventing mass shootings after two massacres last month left the Lone Star State shaken.
“Mental instability, racial hatred, extremist ideology, a desire to sow domestic terror, and other factors have contributed to these horrific mass shootings in varying degrees,” the executive orders said. They also pointed out that police had been alerted to both shooters before they carried out their attacks. Continue reading “Texas Governor Issues Spate of Executive Orders Designed to Prevent Mass Shootings”
Philadelphia police on Wednesday were hunting a gunman who fired at an officer sitting in an unmarked car — the third incident in which cops have been targeted in the city over the past three weeks.
The plainclothes officer was conducting surveillance around 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Kingsessing neighborhood when an unidentified man saw him and opened fire, striking his vehicle twice, FOX29 reported. The officer escaped unharmed and the gunman, who is said to have fired off eight rounds, has been described as a male around 6 feet tall last seen wearing blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Continue reading “Philadelphia officer fired at in city’s third shooting incident targeting police in past three weeks”
(Reuters) – A 14-year-old American boy shot and killed five family members at their home in Alabama, before throwing away the pistol and calling police, officials said on Tuesday, in the latest high-profile gun crime.
The shooting occurred on Monday night in the town of Elkmont, a spokesman for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office told media, including an ABC affiliate. Continue reading “U.S. teenager shoots dead five family members in Alabama: police”
Walmart (WMT) is proposing bold changes to its gun policy that will end sales of certain weapons, following a deadly mass shooting at one of its stores in El Paso, Texas, and an incident days earlier at another location in Southaven, Mississippi.
The retail giant will continue to cater to sportsmen and hunters, but plans to end the sale of certain types of ammunition. That includes exiting the handgun category completely, and asking shoppers not to carry firearms into its stores—even in open-carry states. Continue reading “Walmart to end certain gun, ammunition sales; asks shoppers not to open-carry”
The federal government is helping giant multinational corporations such as Amazon and Google to reap a 15 percent discount every time foreign workers are hired over American college graduates, says Hilarie Gamm, author of Billions Lost: The American Tech Crisis and The Road Map to Change and co-founder of the American Workers Coalition.
During an exclusive interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Tonight, Gamm explained how the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program provides a tax incentive, and thus a subsidy paid for by U.S. taxpayers, for corporations to hire foreign workers over American graduates. Continue reading “Amazon, Google Reap 15 Percent Discount to Hire Foreigners over American Graduates”
At least 33 people were feared dead after a boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island, California, early Monday morning, officials have confirmed.
The Coast Guard said it responded after overhearing a Mayday call around 3:15 a.m. of an “engulfed 75-foot commercial diving vessel with 38 people aboard.” Continue reading “33 people feared dead after boat catches fire off California’s Santa Cruz Island: officials”
Seth Ator has been identified as the accused gunman who was shot and killed by police after a rampage in Odessa and Midland, Texas, according to the Odessa Police Department. Police said Ator, 36, was taken down by officers at the Cinergy movie complex in Odessa. The incident began around 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, August 31, as an attempted traffic stop along Interstate 20. Continue reading “Seth Ator: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know”
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump expressed a commitment Sunday, hours after the latest deadly mass shooting, to work with a divided Congress to “stop the menace of mass attacks.” He said any measures must satisfy the competing goals of protecting public safety and the constitutional right to gun ownership and seemed to cast fresh doubt on the merits of instituting more thorough background checks for gun purchases. Continue reading “Trump says he’ll work with Congress to stop mass shootings”
A Nevada college student was arrested on campus after police found a rifle and 2,000 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle.
Shayn Striegel, a 27-year-old student at the College of Southern Nevada, was arrested and charged Wednesday evening after officers discovered the weapon while acting on a tip, the school said in a statement. Continue reading “Nevada college student arrested on campus with rifle, 2,000 rounds of ammunition”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who is accused of improperly using political campaign funds to reimburse her alleged lover for travel expenses, doesn’t need to worry for now about a complaint filed against her with the Federal Election Commission. Vacancies on the FEC make it impossible for the commission to take any action.
The FEC, where I served as a commissioner over a decade ago, is supposed to act as a government watchdog against election law violations. But unless it has four members, the watchdog is effectively muzzled and chained, helpless to act. Right now there are three members and three vacancies on the commission. Continue reading “Ilhan Omar protected – for now – against accusations of campaign finance law violations”