From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
London (AFP) – Prosecutors were questioning WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadoran embassy in London on Monday, the latest twist in the long-running legal battle over a rape allegation against him.
Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren, due to be present while Assange faced a grilling by an Ecuadoran prosecutor, entered the embassy behind the famous Harrods department store shortly before 1000 GMT, an AFP photographer said. Continue reading “WikiLeaks’ Assange questioned by prosecutors”
BEIRUT: Turkish warplanes on Monday struck Islamic State positions in and near the northern Syrian town of al-Bab while Ankara-backed Syrian opposition fighters inched closer to the town, one of the extremist group’s largest remaining strongholds in the country, Turkish state media and Syrian activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks Syria’s civil war, now in its sixth year, said the airstrikes and the shelling killed three people and wounded 30 others. Continue reading “Turkish warplanes attack IS stronghold in northern Syria”
Companies that make kits which allow buyers to assemble military-style, semi-automatic rifles at home have sprung up in recent years in at least one Central Florida county, alarming some in law enforcement.
These so-called “ghost gun” kits have become popular with firearms rights activists because the parts have no serial number or other markings, making them untraceable. Continue reading “‘Ghost gun’ kit makers on the rise in Central Florida”
A Russian fighter jet crashed in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after launching from its aircraft carrier near the coast of Syria Sunday, two U.S. officials told Fox News.
Three Russian MiG-29 fighter jets took off from their Soviet-era aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, and flew in the direction of Syria. Once airborne, one of the Russian jets appeared to have mechanical difficulties and turned around in the direction of the aircraft carrier. Continue reading “Russian fighter jet crashes near its aircraft carrier in Mediterranean, US officials say”
As the reality of a Donald Trump presidency settled in Thursday, Trump’s transition team continued to fill out their list of potential cabinet picks with new names.
Despite his campaign pledge to “drain the swamp” in Washington and his outsider campaign, however, many of the prospects are clear Washington insiders. Continue reading “‘Drain the Swamp?’ Trump’s Potential Cabinet Fills Out With Washington Insiders”
New York Post – by Emily Smith
While some pundits are declaring the Clinton political dynasty dead, sources tell us that it is far from over. Chelsea Clinton is being groomed for the New York seat held by Rep. Nita Lowey.
Chelsea could run for the seat in NYC’s 17th Congressional District once Lowey, a 79-year-old respected career politician with nearly 30 years in office, decides to retire, we have exclusively learned. Continue reading “Chelsea Clinton being groomed to run for Congress”
Some U.S. oil policies are likely to shift significantly when Donald Trump assumes the presidency next year. While details remain sketchy, he’s highlighted a number of areas where he differs significantly from current policy. Continue reading “What to Watch in Oil When Trump Moves Into the White House”
Demand localities become sanctuaries
(Washington Times) – Advocates for illegal immigrants sounded the alarm Wednesday morning as Donald Trump was poised to claim the White House, vowing to resist an expected crackdown and calling on localities to declare themselves sanctuary cities, resisting the federal government.
They also demanded President Obama halt all deportations for the rest of his tenure. Continue reading “Illegal Immigrants Vow to Defy Trump, Call on Obama to Halt Deportations”
New York Post – by Dana Schuster and Natalie O’Neill
The woman who was shoved to her death at Times Square station Monday spent decades as the housekeeper for billionaire Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s family, his heartbroken daughter told the Post Tuesday.
Connie Watton, 49 — who was pushed in front of a moving train by a schizophrenic woman in an unprovoked attack — worked for the business mogul and his family for 30 years, Zibby Schwarzman said. Continue reading “Victim in fatal subway push was Blackstone CEO’s housekeeper”
New York Daily News – by Chris Sommerfeldt
Two police officers were shot in Pennsylvania when they responded to a domestic dispute early Thursday, officials said.
A manhunt was underway for a gunman who fled after allegedly gunning down two cops when they arrived at his home in Canonsburg around 3:30 a.m., according to WXPI-TV.
The officers were airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital where their conditions were not immediately known. It was not immediately clear what triggered the shooting. Continue reading “Two Pennsylvania police officers shot after responding to domestic dispute”
Nevada, California and Washington all voted in favor of enhanced gun control on Tuesday, while Maine narrowly rejected universal background checks for private gun sales despite millions of dollars spent there by national gun control advocates.
Maine’s rejection of the gun control ballot measure, and the narrow support for a similar measure in Nevada, showed the limits of well-funded national organizations pushing for expanded background checks around the country. Voters in Maine defeated a measure that would’ve expanded background checks to private gun sales and transfers or loans to friends. Polls showed support for the referendum before the vote; the measure had strong backing from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that spent more than $5 million in the state.
Continue reading “Voters Strengthen Gun Control Measures in 3 States”
Donald Trump, defying the pundits and polls to the end, defeated Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s presidential election and claimed an establishment-stunning victory that exposes the depth of voter dissatisfaction – and signals immense changes ahead for American policy at home and abroad.
Seventeen months after the billionaire tycoon’s Trump Tower entrance into the race, the first-time candidate once dismissed by the political elite will become the 45th president, Fox News projects. Continue reading “Trump wins presidency, defeats Clinton in historic election upset”
Daily Breeze – by Donna Littlejohn
On the eve of a contentious national election that at times has focused on potential voter fraud and suppression, a San Pedro couple unexpectedly landed in the media spotlight this week.
Authorities are investigating the story behind more than 80 unused ballots — all with different names but all addressed to the same single-unit apartment — that landed at their mailboxes. Continue reading “How more than 80 election ballots mysteriously landed at one address in San Pedro”
In the last presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Clinton said that “half of all” illegal immigrants in the U.S. “actually pay federal income tax.” PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact check organization, investigated Clinton’s claim and reported: “While there is no official figure, experts estimate that about half of all undocumented workers pay federal income taxes, if not more.”
In reality, the polar opposite is true. Federal government data shows that while roughly half of illegal immigrants file federal tax returns, the vast majority of them don’t pay any federal income taxes. Instead, they use these returns to claim refundable tax credits, which are a form of cash welfare. In other words, illegal immigrants mainly use the federal income tax code to collect money from U.S. citizens. Continue reading “About 6.1 Million Illegals Filed Taxes in US – Many Didn’t Pay, Received Refunds”
CNS News – by Cully Stimson and Hans von Spakovsky
A few weeks ago, we reported on a lawsuit in California brought by a resident and taxpayer against the Board of Regents of the University of California. Earl De Vries claimed that by giving in-state tuition benefits to illegal immigrants at all University of California schools, the regents were in violation of federal law.
A state appeals court heard the case yesterday, and based on reports from those who attended the oral argument, De Vries (and the taxpayers of California) had a good day in court. Continue reading “College Subsidies for Illegal Immigrants Get Their Day in Court”
The Denver Post – by Eric Lubbers
The “Denver Guardian” is not a real news source and definitely isn’t Denver’s oldest news source.
On Nov. 5, a story began circulating on Facebook (at points gaining 100 shares per minute) with the headline “FBI AGENT SUSPECTED IN HILLARY EMAIL LEAKS FOUND DEAD IN APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE,” and hosted at denverguardian.com. Continue reading “There is no such thing as the Denver Guardian, despite that Facebook post you saw”
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake centered near one of the world’s key oil hubs brought down building facades and shattered windows in a central Oklahoma city, rendering century-old buildings unsafe and raising concerns about key infrastructure.
As the sun rose Monday, television news footage showed widespread, substantial damage to buildings, with piles of bricks and other debris littering the ground following the earthquake the previous evening. Cushing Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier told a news conference late Sunday that a few minor injuries had been reported. He said the damage appeared to be contained downtown. Continue reading “Substantial damage after earthquake rattles major Oklahoma oil hub”