From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
A San Francisco judge has blocked enforcement of President Trump’s executive order barring federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County won preliminary injunctions to block Trump’s January order to withhold federal funds from cities that refuse to comply with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws, according to multiple reports. Continue reading “Federal judge blocks Trump’s sanctuary cities order”
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Gateway Pundit – by Cristina Laila
On August 6, 2011, 30 US service members were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter they were being transported in crashed in Wardak province, Afghanistan. It was the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs were killed in the crash. Continue reading “Ret. Air Force Captain and Whistleblower: Pentagon Covered Up Real Story on ‘Extortion 17’ Navy SEAL Helicopter Crash”
North Korea conducted what various media outlets have dubbed as its largest ever live-fire exercise on Tuesday to mark the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its military, as a U.S. submarine docked in South Korea in “a show of force” amid growing concern a showdown between the US and North Korea may be imminent.
The port call by the USS Michigan, first reported by Reuters, came as the USS Carl Vinson carrier group steamed toward Korean waters and is expected to arrive over the next 24 hours, while top envoys for North Korea policy from South Korea, Japan and the United States met in Tokyo.
Continue reading “North Korea Conducts Largest-Ever Live Fire Drill As US Nuclear Sub Docks In South”
A caterpillar that munches on plastic bags could hold the key to tackling plastic pollution, scientists say.
Researchers at Cambridge University have discovered that the larvae of the moth, which eats wax in bee hives, can also degrade plastic. Continue reading “Plastic-eating caterpillar could munch waste, scientists say”
A federal judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of six men accused of taking up arms against federal agents during the Bundy Ranch standoff in 2014.
Jurors convicted two defendants on multiple counts but could not reach a unanimous verdict against four others.
Jurors told lawyers after court Monday they never came close to convicting four defendants, voting 10-2 in favor of acquitting two and splitting on the others, according to one of the defense lawyers. Continue reading “Judge declares mistrial in Bundy Ranch case”
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Ron Paul Institute – by Ron Paul
“I love Wikileaks,” candidate Donald Trump said on October 10th on the campaign trail. He praised the organization for reporting on the darker side of the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was information likely leaked by a whistleblower from within the Clinton campaign to Wikileaks. Continue reading “Candidate Trump: ‘I Love Wikileaks.’ President Trump: ‘Arrest Assange!’”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top Trump administration officials will hold a rare briefing on Wednesday at the White House for the entire U.S. Senate on the situation in North Korea, senior Senate aides said on Monday.
All 100 senators have been asked to the White House for the briefing by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the aides said. Continue reading “Entire U.S. Senate to go to White House for North Korea briefing”
US Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that the United States would “honor” a refugee resettlement agreement forged with Australia in the closing days of the Obama administration, despite it previously being described by US President Donald Trump as a “dumb deal.”
Pence made the commitment — subject to the refugees passing stringent US vetting procedures — at a joint news conference in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, with whom Trump reportedly had a testy first call because of the refugee issue. Continue reading “Pence says US will honor refugee deal with Australia”
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) – The Trump administration has denied ExxonMobil permission to bypass sanctions to drill for oil in Russia.
“The Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said in a statement Friday. Mnuchin said he consulted with President Trump on the decision. Continue reading “Trump denies Exxon permission to drill for oil in Russia”
A pilot from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier safely ejected from a fighter jet, according to a statement from the Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
The pilot was quickly recovered by a helicopter and is being assessed by the medical team on board the carrier. There are no injuries at this time, the statement said.
The pilot ejected from his F/A-18E Super Hornet as it was on its final approach to land on the USS Carl Vinson. The Navy said the plane had been conducting “routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea.” The body of water is north of Indonesia and south of the Philippines. Continue reading “US pilot ejects from jet approaching carrier headed for Korean peninsula”
Somehow on Wednesday, a Nissan driving on a Southern California freeway got wedged into the rear wheels of a tandem truck.
Motorist Brian Steimke caught the conclusion of the incident on his cellphone on Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass.
As Steimke passed the Nissan, the driver could be seen waving frantically, trying to get the truck driver to stop — to no avail. Continue reading “Car dragged by truck for miles, truck driver oblivious”
Chicago Tribune – by Jim Puzzanghera
Pesident Trump, who has vowed to dismantle the landmark Dodd-Frank financial reform law, will take aim at two of its pillars on Friday.
During an appearance at the Treasury Department, Trump is scheduled to sign two presidential memos ordering six-month reviews of the 2010 law’s authority for regulators to designate large firms as a risk to the financial system and to try to shut them down with minimal collateral damage if they’re on the verge of failing, the White House said. Continue reading “Trump targets key Dodd-Frank financial regulations and taxes in new executive actions”
The Daily Caller – by Kerry Picket
Twenty-one non-citizens voted illegally in the 2016 election in Nevada, the state’s secretary of state Barbara Cegavske announced Wednesday.
The 21 non-citizens — and about 80 other non-citizens — registered to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles despite having “presented evidence of non-citizenship,” Cegavske wrote in a statement about her office’s investigation into the integrity of the election. Continue reading “21 Non-Citizens Voted Illegally In Nevada In 2016 Election”
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian military said on Friday it was not building up its forces near the border with North Korea, denying earlier media reports which said it was, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an army spokesman.
Some media in Russia’s Ear East have cited local residents as saying they had seen military hardware being moved toward North Korea as tensions with the United States over its nuclear programme escalated. Continue reading “Russian army denies building up forces near North Korea: Ifax”
Jerusalem Post – by Herb Keinon
Israel and many countries in the region and the world welcome the strategic change in American foreign policy ushered in by US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday.
Netanyahu, speaking in his office before a meeting with visiting US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, said that Israel senses “a great change in the direction of American policy.” Continue reading “Netanyahu welcomes Trump’s strategic change of US foreign policy”
Washington Post – by Orin Kerr
In a new case, Alexander v. City of Round Rock, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit considers the following question: If the police pull over a driver and the driver indicates he will refuse to answer any police questions, does it violate the Constitution for the police to retaliate against the driver to punish him for refusing to answer their questions? Continue reading “Can the police retaliate against a citizen for refusing to answer police questions?”
The U.S. Secret Service said it would end public access to a sidewalk along the south fence of the White House beginning on Wednesday night.
The sidewalk has been closed nightly from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. since 2015 and will now be off-limits around the clock, the Secret Service said in a statement.
The closure will “lessen the possibility of individuals illegally accessing the White House grounds,” Secret Service Communications Director Cathy Milhoan said. Continue reading “White House sidewalk to be closed to public permanently”
North Korean state media threatened to launch a “super-mighty pre-emptive strike” that would reduce South Korea and the United states “to ashes.”
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper for North Korea’s ruling Worker’s Party, wrote, “In the case of our super-mighty pre-emptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists’ invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes,” according to Reuters. The rogue nation also claimed the U.S. and its allies “should not mess with us.” Continue reading “North Korea: ‘Super-mighty pre-emptive strike’ will reduce US to ashes”