From the Trenches World Report
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The An-148 aircraft operated by Saratov Airlines went missing from radar shortly after take-off from the Moscow airport, according to the source.
The plane is understood to have been carrying 65 passengers and six crew.
A source told Russia’s Interfax news agency: “The airplane reportedly crashed outside Argunovo village in the Moscow region. Continue reading “Russian passenger jet crash – 71 feared dead as plane goes down in Moscow”
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel struck a dozen Syrian and Iranian targets inside Syria on Saturday in “large-scale” raids after an Israeli fighter jet crashed under fire from Syrian air defences in a severe increase in tensions, the military said.
The confrontation was the most serious between arch foes Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Israel’s raids came after it intercepted what it said was an Iranian drone entering its airspace from Syria, which it labelled an “attack.” Continue reading “‘Large-scale’ Israeli raids hit Iranian targets in Syria”
The White House on Friday told Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee to redraft their rebuttal to a controversial GOP memo alleging government surveillance abuse during the 2016 campaign, saying sensitive details need to be stripped out before the document can be made public.
The message was sent to the committee on Friday in a letter from White House Counsel Don McGahn. Continue reading “White House seeks revisions to Dems’ FISA rebuttal memo, halting release”
Federal prosecutors want to drop charges against the four remaining defendants in the Bundy Ranch standoff case, including two militia members from Arizona.
Attorneys for the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a motion late Wednesday asking the court to dismiss the remaining cases “in the interest of justice.”
Dave and Mel Bundy, and Arizona residents Joseph O’Shaughnessy and Jason Woods, were scheduled to stand trial Feb. 26. Continue reading “Feds move to drop charges against remaining Bundy standoff defendants”
LOCUST GROVE, GA — A police officer was killed and two sheriff’s deputies were injured in a shooting Friday in Henry County, authorities said at a press conference. The alleged shooter, who was being placed under arrest by the officers, also was shot and killed.
The slain police officer has been identified as Chase Maddox, 26. Locust Grove Mayor Robert Price told WSB-TV that Maddox was a five-year veteran of the city’s police department whose wife is expecting their second child any day. Continue reading “Georgia Police Shooting: Officer Killed, 2 Deputies Injured”
People expect to see the Army National Guard during disasters.
In Huntington, W.V., the guard has been called in to help tackle the opioid crisis – which the governor has called a disaster.
“We have to stop this terrible drug epidemic,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said. “We have to. If we don’t, it will cannibalize us.” Continue reading “West Virginia calls in National Guard to tackle opioid crisis”
The two-year budget deal reached by congressional leaders would set up the biggest sale in history from the nation’s emergency oil stockpile.
In an effort to partially pay for new spending, the budget agreement would sell 100 million barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the next decade.
Taken with sales Congress authorized last year to pay for other spending, the deal would leave the Department of Energy-managed reserve with just over 300 million barrels, or about half its previous size. Continue reading “Budget deal envisions largest oil stockpile sale in history”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House moved swiftly early Friday to reopen the federal government and pass a $400 billion budget deal, overcoming opposition from both liberal Democrats and tea party conservatives to endorse enormous spending increases despite looming trillion-dollar deficits.
The 240-186 vote came in the pre-dawn hours, putting to bed a five-and-a-half hour federal freeze that relatively few would notice. Many who did quickly labeled it a pointless, head-scratching episode. The shutdown was the second in three weeks. Continue reading “Congress votes to reopen government, passes budget deal”
Feb. 8 (UPI) — Syria’s foreign ministry appealed to the United Nations Security Council Thursday to condemn a U.S. assault that killed more than 100 government troops.
The U.S. military said the overnight airstrike in Deir el-Zour was retaliation for an “unprovoked attack” against the U.S.-led coalition occupying Syria.
The Syrian government, though, called the act a “barbaric aggression” and said the real purpose of the “so-called international coalition” was to support the Islamic State terror network. Continue reading “Syria slams deadly U.S. strike as ‘war crime’”
Some illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are planning to self-deport from the United States if an amnesty is not passed soon, according to a CNN report.
Alex and Daniela Velez, two illegal alien sisters enrolled in the DACA program, were profiled for a CNN report which revealed how some illegal aliens are planning to leave the U.S. if they do not receive amnesty. Continue reading “CNN: DACA Illegal Aliens Promising to Self-Deport if Amnesty Fails”
Yesterday we explained that one of the reasons why Deutsche Bank stock had tumbled to the lowest level since 2016, is because its top shareholder, China’s largest and most distressed conglomerate, HNA Group, had reportedly defaulted on a wealth management product sold on Phoenix Finance according to the local press reports. While HNA’s critical liquidity troubles have been duly noted here and have been widely known, the fact that the company was on the verge (or beyond) of default, and would be forced to liquidate its assets imminently, is what sparked the selling cascade in Deutsche Bank shares, as investors scrambled to frontrun the selling of the German lender which is one of HNA’s biggest investments. Continue reading “The Firesale Begins: China’s HNA Starts Liquidating Billions In US Real Estate”
More than two months after the death of a US Border Patrol agent on duty in Texas, an internal government memo and the FBI appear to cast doubt on theories that the agent and his partner were attacked or ambushed.
US Border Agent Rogelio “Roger” Martinez and his partner, Stephen “Michael” Garland, were found near a concrete-lined culvert in southwest Texas on November 18. Martinez died in a hospital in El Paso a few hours later. Garland also suffered injuries. Continue reading “The FBI hasn’t found any evidence that border patrol agent was murdered”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. aircraft carried out rare, retaliatory strikes in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province on Wednesday against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after they attacked U.S.-backed fighters’ headquarters there, U.S. officials said.
No U.S. troops embedded with the local fighters at their headquarters were believed to have been wounded or killed in the attack, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Continue reading “U.S. strikes pro-Syrian forces after ‘unprovoked attack’ on partners’ base”
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”
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”
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”
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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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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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”