High Country News – by Tay Wiles

When the third in a series of trials over the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff in Nevada gets underway, prosecutors will be able to use testimony from an expert in extremism and domestic terrorism, the judge in the case has ruled.

Defense attorneys for one of the accused Bundy supporters, Ryan Payne, of Montana, had sought to keep much of the federal agent’s testimony out of the case, saying his expertise on militias and terrorism would prejudice the jury.   Continue reading “Defense wants ‘domestic terrorism’ out of Bundy case”

Survivor’s Fortress – by Conrad Novak

In this series, we will walk you through the necessary steps required to ensure that you are prepared in the event of a catastrophic disaster. If you think about it for a short amount of time, you will be surprised by the numerous steps you can come up with on your own to provide the best chance for you, your family, and friends–often called “your party”–to come out the other side of a disaster healthy and whole.

However, just because you feel confident in your abilities to work through this type of problem on your own does not mean you have accounted for the litany of potential issues that can bring everything to a crashing halt. That is why we have developed this series: to help guide you from random Joe Schmo to master prepper in no time.   Continue reading “Bug Out Bag Essentials List: Our Complete Guide to Build a Good BOB”

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it will hold a lease sale for land in a federal reserve in northern Alaska to oil and gas drillers, the largest number of tracts ever offered from the reserve.

The sale, to be held on Dec. 6, will involve 900 tracts in part of the Indiana-sized mass of public land known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The federal government set aside the public lands in 1923 when the country was converting Navy vessels to run on oil instead of coal.   Continue reading “U.S. offers record lease sale in Alaska reserve to oil, gas drillers”

Fox News

The Justice Department said Wednesday night that it had lifted a gag order on a former FBI informant involved in a high-profile Russia bribery case, clearing the individual to speak to Congress about Moscow’s Obama-era uranium deals in the U.S. market and other schemes.

In a statement, the department said it had authorized the informant to speak to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, House Oversight Committee, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in addition to select staffers.  Continue reading “Gag order lifted: DOJ says informant can speak to Congress on Uranium One, Russia bribery case with Clinton links”

Arkansas Online

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — An evangelical Christian college in Missouri is now requiring freshman to take a class aimed at encouraging patriotism.

The College of the Ozarks has unveiled a military science class called Patriotic Education and Fitness. The course aims to educate students on modern military customs, U.S. politics and flag protocol and procedures. It will also teach rifle marksmanship, map reading, land navigation and rope knotting.   Continue reading “College of the Ozarks creates mandatory patriotism class”

Fox News

The revelation that Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund a salacious anti-Trump dossier last year is raising new legal questions for the Clinton team — with a watchdog group filing a formal complaint alleging they hid the payments from public view.

The Campaign Legal Center filed the complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the DNC and Clinton’s campaign committee of breaking campaign finance law by failing to accurately disclose the money spent on the Trump-Russia dossier.  Continue reading “Fusion GPS scandal: Clinton, DNC broke campaign finance law with dossier funding, complaint says”

9 News – by Ashley May

USA TODAY – An alarming study released Wednesday found many baby food products test positive for arsenic, including 80% of infant formulas. And, that’s not the only dangerous contaminate found.

The Clean Label Project, a nonprofit advocating for transparent labeling, tested baby food, infant formulas, toddler drinks and snacks purchased within the past 5 months. The group looked at top-selling formulas and baby food using Nielson data, and also included emerging national brands. After about 530 baby food products were tested, researchers found 65% of products tested positive for arsenic, 36% for lead, 58% for cadmium and 10% for acrylamide. All of these chemicals pose potential dangers to developing infants.   Continue reading “These baby foods and formulas tested positive for arsenic, lead and BPA in new study”

USA Today

Travelers on international flights to the United States may face longer check-in and boarding queues this week as new U.S. security requirements kick in.

A set of new security measures for U.S.-bound flights takes effect Thursday, part of an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to scrutinize electronics brought onboard commercial airliners.

Ahead of that deadline, at least four large global carriers said they have started new “security interviews” for all passengers on U.S.-bound flights. Those airlines said that has come at the request of the U.S. Other global airlines that fly to the U.S. will likely do the same.    Continue reading “New ‘security interviews’ to begin for fliers on U.S.-bound flights”

Mercury News

This morning’s headline at one Indian news website said it all: “Trouble for Indian Techies”

The “trouble” is coming from a move by the Trump administration that will raise the bar for H-1B visa holders in the United States seeking to renew their permits to work here. Also impacted by the directive announced this week is the L1 visa, which is popular among foreign IT professionals. The Trump team wants visa holders to carry the burden of proof not only when applying for an H-1B the first time, but every time an extension is sought.  Continue reading “Trump tightens H-1B visa rules”

AZ Central – by Robert Anglen

A legal saga that included two hung juries, two trials and months of testimony in Las Vegas ended Monday for two defendants in the Bundy Ranch standoff case with a plea deal.

Eric Parker and O. Scott Drexler pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a court order and will not serve additional time in prison, getting credit for time served.

Parker and Drexler initially were charged with conspiracy, extortion, carrying weapons during crimes of violence, assaulting and threatening federal officers, and interference with interstate commerce for their roles in taking up arms against the federal government.  Continue reading “Two defendants in Bundy Ranch standoff plead guilty to misdemeanor in deal”

CNN

The National Park Service proposes more than doubling the entrance fees at 17 popular national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone, to help pay for infrastructure improvements.

Under the agency’s proposal, the entrance fee for a private vehicle would jump to $70 during peak season, from its current rate of $25 to $30.

The cost for a motorcycle entering the park could increase to $50, from the current fee of $15 to $25. The cost for people entering the park on foot or on bike could go to $30, up from the current rate of $10 to $15.   Continue reading “National Park Service proposes $70 entrance fee for 17 popular parks”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress from both parties on Tuesday called for an investigation into a $300 million contract awarded to a small company based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority awarded the contract to Whitefish Energy Holdings to help crews restore transmission and distribution lines damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Maria. The two-year-old company had just two full-time employees when the storm hit last month, but says it is contracting with hundreds of workers for the Puerto Rico project.   Continue reading “Lawmakers seek probe of power contract to Zinke neighbor”

Fox News

An informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is under a gag order that prevents him from testifying before the United States Congress that Russian nuclear officials were involved in fraudulent dealings in 2009 before the Uranium One deal was approved.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch blocked the informant from testifying last year and threatened criminal action against him if he were to do so.   Continue reading “Clinton Uranium One deal: FBI informant blocked by Obama-era AG can unlock key info, attorney says”

Yahoo News

Two people were killed and three were injured in a shooting spree in Lake County, California, Monday, officials said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Alan Ashmore, 61, in connection with the shootings. He faces two counts of homicide as well as multiple other counts of assault with a firearm, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.   Continue reading “Suspect captured in California shooting spree that killed 2, injured 3”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

In an delightfully ironic lesson why border protection is important for the US, an MSNBC crew was reporting on the prototypes of Trump’s proposed border wall near San Diego, when the interview was interrupted by a group of “migrants not from Mexico” hopping over the existing fence.   Continue reading “MSNBC Catches Illegals Jumping Border Fence With Mexico As It Reports On Trump’s Wall”

Fox News

A jury has been selected in the highly-publicized trial of an illegal immigrant accused of shooting and killing Kate Steinle on a popular San Francisco pier in 2015.

Opening arguments in the case were slated to begin Monday.

Six men and six women were selected Wednesday for the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 54, who was charged with murder in the death of Steinle, 32, on July 1, 2015.

Steinle was walking with her father on the pier crowded with pedestrians when she was shot. She collapsed into her father’s arm, whimpering “help me, Dad.” The bullet struck her heart and she died in her father’s arms.   Continue reading “Jury chosen for Kate Steinle murder trial, opening statements to begin Monday”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

There were many unanswered questions following last night’s story from Defense One, according to which the US Air Force would put nuclear bombers on high, 24-hour alert for the first time since the end of the cold war in 1991. There may be even more questions on Monday, when the Air Force denied the report and said it was not preparing to put its B-52 nuclear bombers on 24-hour alert, adding that a “misunderstanding” might have led to a report claiming those preparations are underway.

According to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations at the Pentagon, updates to facilities, exercises, and training related to the B-52 Stratofortress aircraft at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana are done routinely to ensure the service is prepared.  Continue reading “Air Force Denies That US Nuclear Bombers Are Being Put Back On 24-Hour Alert”

The Hill

As Hillary Clinton was beginning her job as President Obama’s chief diplomat, federal agents observed as multiple arms of Vladimir Putin’s machine unleashed an influence campaign designed to win access to the new secretary of State, her husband Bill Clinton and members of their inner circle, according to interviews and once-sealed FBI records.

Some of the activities FBI agents gathered evidence about in 2009 and 2010 were covert and illegal.   Continue reading “FBI watched, then acted as Russian spy moved closer to Hillary Clinton”

Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Alaska is pursuing foreign investors for its oil and gas industry, hoping to advance recent discoveries while struggling to compete with lower-cost shale projects and reverse a decades-long output decline.

Sovereign wealth funds, banks and state-owned energy companies have met with Alaskan officials, John Hendrix, chief energy adviser to Alaska Governor Bill Walker said in an interview. China Investment Corp (CIC) and state-owned Chinese energy company Sinopec held talks with state officials last month, he said.   Continue reading “Cash-poor Alaska eyes foreign capital to jump-start energy projects”

New York Daily News – by Christopher Brennan

The Special Counsel’s probe into Russian election meddling now includes the Democratic-learning Podesta Group, according to a report.

Robert Mueller is looking into the group headed by Tony Podesta, the brother of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, over its dealings with a Ukrainian government-linked firm, NBC reported Monday.   Continue reading “Mueller probe now targeting Podesta Group”