Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would shower both the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits, giving wins to both GOP defense hawks and Democrats seeking billions for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse.

The agreement is likely to be added to a stopgap spending bill that passed the House on Tuesday and is aimed at averting a government shutdown Thursday at midnight.  Continue reading “Senate leaders announce two-year budget pact”

Forbes – by Kenneth Rapoza

It’s not exactly an immigrant visa, though it does allow for foreigners to work legally in the United States for at least two years. But it is one of the most controversial immigration topics after building a wall and the “Dreamers.”

The H-1B visa, dominated by the big three Indian outsourcers, is in more demand this year than last. And nearly double where it was in 2016. The visa program has been roundly criticized mostly by American tech workers who have either been replaced by H-1B recipients or believe their pay has been stalled out because of competition from abroad.  Continue reading “Companies Say They Want More H-1B Foreign Workers”

USA Today

A fake tiger caused a real headache for a Scottish farmer and local police after a 45-minute showdown turned out to be a sham.

Scottish authorities said Tuesday that officers had an armed standoff with a stuffed tiger over the weekend.

“It’s true — our officers had a roaring shift on Saturday night,” the North East Police Division wrote in a Facebook post.   Continue reading “Stuffed tiger causes 45-minute police standoff at Scottish farm”

The Hill

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that he will sue the Trump administration if the state isn’t removed from a plan to expand offshore drilling.

Ferguson in a letter sent to Zinke on Monday demanded that Washington be exempt from the plan to expand oil and gas drilling off the U.S., including off the state’s coast.  Continue reading “Washington state threatens to sue over Zinke offshore drilling plan”

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Fox News

Newly revealed text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page include an exchange about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, who wanted “to know everything we’re doing.”

The message, from Page to Strzok, was among thousands of texts between the lovers reviewed by Fox News. The pair both worked at one point for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.   Continue reading “FBI lovers’ latest text messages: Obama ‘wants to know everything’”

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KCRA 3 News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities seized more than two dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from a California man, nearly five months after a judge barred him from having firearms, highlighting a backlog in a state system meant to seize guns from those who aren’t allowed to have them.

A judge in September ordered Mark Morman to surrender his firearms and ammunition. In January, agents from the California Department of Justice went to his home in North Hollywood looking for two guns that he had registered.   Continue reading “10,000+ people barred from owning guns in CA still have them”

WSOC TV – by Joe Bruno

ROCKWELL, N.C. – A Davidson County deputy is accused of robbing the F&M bank on West Main Street in Rockwell Tuesday afternoon.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said Jeff Athey was arrested around 4 p.m., four minutes after walking into the bank he is accused of robbing with a semi-automatic weapon.   Continue reading “Davidson County deputy accused of robbing Rowan County bank”

New York Post – by Kevin Carty

America’s biggest tech giants are nothing if not popular. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon rank as some of the most well-liked brands in the world. Pollsters find that 86 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Google and 80 percent share a favorable impression of Amazon. The reason is simple — these companies’ products are entertaining, accessible and seemingly cheap.   Continue reading “Tech giants are the robber barons of our time”

CNN

President Donald Trump has asked for a military parade and the Pentagon is reviewing potential dates, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said Tuesday.

The spokesman described the planning process as being in its “infancy.”

In response to the news, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump had asked the Defense Department to “explore” the idea.   Continue reading “Trump tells Pentagon to plan a military parade”

Yahoo News

The Defense Logistics Agency has 25,000 employees and processes 100,000 orders a day from the military and other federal agencies, for everything from food and fuel to maps and medical supplies.

According to Politico, the $40 billion-a-year logistics agency failed to document construction projects worth $800 million in 2016 alone, raising serious questions about the ongoing audit of the Pentagon that is scheduled to be completed this year.  Continue reading “Pentagon Loses Track of $800 Million”

Reuters

A Colorado sheriff’s deputy and a suspect were killed and four others, including three law enforcement officers, were wounded on Monday in a shooting that sprang from an auto theft investigation, officials said.

Officers from three Colorado agencies investigating an auto theft were confronted by a man at an apartment complex in Colorado Springs about 4 p.m., Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said at a press conference. A civilian was among the injured, he said.  Continue reading “Colorado deputy, suspect killed, four others wounded”

USA Today

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico’s high school juniors would be required to apply to at least one college or show they have committed to other post-high school plans as part of a new high school graduation requirement being pushed by two state lawmakers.

The proposal is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on Thursday. If it eventually becomes law, New Mexico would be the first state to require post-high school plans of students, said Jennifer Zinth, who is the director of high school and STEM research at the Education Commission of the States, a Denver-based group that tracks education policy.  Continue reading “New Mexico bill would force high school students to apply to college”

The Hill

The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department.

The memo’s release follows authorization by President Trump, who was required to allow the public to see classified materials.

The memo was compiled by House Intelligence Committee staff, led by chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), from classified documents provided by the Department of Justice.  Continue reading “Read the controversial memo just released by Republicans”

The Hill – by Timothy Cama

The Interior Department implemented a new policy Thursday aimed at streamlining the oil and natural gas drilling process on federal land by cutting back on the opportunities for drilling opponents to slow down the process.

A memo signed Wednesday and released Thursday by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) states that it is the agency’s policy to “simplify and streamline the leasing process to alleviate unnecessary impediments and burdens, to expedite the offering of lands for lease,” and to ensure drilling rights sales happen regularly.  Continue reading “Interior rolls back oil drilling policies for federal land”

Houston Chronicle

One of President Donald Trump’s favorite subjects for praise – the Texas oil industry – is urging him to back off his hard-line stance on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, which represents oil companies across Texas,  passed a resolution this week urging Trump not to raise tariffs on Mexico and Canada, so as “to foster the expansion of unfettered energy trade and investment.”   Continue reading “Texas oil companies tell Trump to leave NAFTA alone”

NBC News

A teenage girl was taken into custody after two students were shot at a Los Angeles middle school on Thursday, authorities said.

The gunfire wounded a 15-year-old boy, who was shot in the head and is in critical condition, and a 15-year-old girl, who was struck in the wrist and is in fair condition, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.   Continue reading “LA middle school shooting: Two students wounded, female student in custody”

Bloomberg – by Jessica Summers

U.S. oil production surged above 10 million barrels a day for the first time in more than four decades, another marker of a profound shift in global crude markets.

The milestone comes weeks after the International Energy Agency said the U.S. is poised for “explosive” growth in oil output that would push it past Saudi Arabia and Russia this year. New drilling and production techniques have opened up billions of barrels of recoverable U.S. oil in shale rock formations in the past 10 years, reversing decades of declining output and turning the nation into an exporter.   Continue reading “US oil production tops 10-million-barrel-per-day mark”

CBS

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – ICE is targeting undocumented immigrants at local courthouses in the Bay Area and across the country.

The feds laid out new guidelines for arresting undocumented immigrants and KPIX 5’s Phil Matier got his hands on the new directive from ICE.

The feds say they are going after undocumented immigrants and that includes reaching into the local courthouses and taking them by force, if necessary.   Continue reading “ICE To Target Undocumented Immigrants At California Courthouses”

Breitbart – by Bob Price

Immigration officials released more than 100,000 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) apprehended at the border into the U.S. interior since Fiscal Year 2016. White House officials state that many of the family members of these minors–mostly from Central America–paid criminal organizations to smuggle their children to the United States.

In just over two years, federal law forced immigration officials released more than 100,000 UACs into the U.S., according to the White House. UACs are defined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as migrants under the age of 18 who arrive at the border without an adult family member.   Continue reading “More than 100K Unaccompanied Migrant Children Released into U.S. Since FY2016”

WTVR 9 News

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Police have arrested a Virginia Tech freshman who they say was illegally in possession of multiple assault rifles.

Yungsong Zhao, 19, was arrested Monday and charged with possessing an assault rifle firearm while not being a lawfully admitted U.S. citizen, which is a class 6 felony, according to arrest warrants obtained by WDBJ7.

Zhao is a Chinese immigrant in the U.S. under a VISA.   Continue reading “Virginia Tech freshman arrested for illegally possessing assault rifles”