Washington Post – by Lisa Rein

A year after auditors documented tens of thousands of federal workers on paid leave for at least a month and longer stretches that exceed a year, close to 100 Department of Homeland Security employees still are being paid not to work for more than a year.

The large number persists even after the Obama administration urged agencies in June to curtail their reliance on what is known as administrative leave, the government’s go-to strategy for dealing with employees facing allegations of misconduct.   Continue reading “Almost 100 Homeland Security employees have been paid to stay home for over a year”

Boston Globe – by John R. Ellement

A New Hampshire man allegedly sold a military-style assault rifle, a shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition to an undercover federal agent who was part of a joint investigation with Tewksbury police, officials said.

John J. Miller pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Lowell District Court Wednesday to charges including trafficking firearms, sale of an assault weapon, possession of a large capacity assault rifle, and 11 counts of possession of a large capacity ammunition clip. Bail was set at $20,000 and Miller was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device and not to leave Massachusetts, according to a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.   Continue reading “Man allegedly sold assault weapon, shotgun to ATF agent”

Yahoo News – by Ted Siefer

CONCORD, N.H. (Reuters) – Federal officials on Thursday will attempt to auction off 103 wooded acres in New Hampshire that were the site of a nine-month standoff between an anti-government couple and federal agents, despite worries the property could be booby-trapped.

It is the second time the U.S. Marshals Service has tried to sell the property that includes the fortified compound where Ed and Elaine Brown lived before agents in 2007 ended the standoff by sneaking onto the property posing as pizza delivery men.   Continue reading “For sale: 100 wooded acres in New Hampshire, possibly booby-trapped”

Detroit Free Press – by Laura Colvin

An illegal immigrant who was reportedly drunk when he harassed a 13-year-old girl in downtown Milford on Sunday was taken into federal custody and will likely be deported.

Elias Lopez, 43, was arrested just before 1 p.m. Wednesday at MiZarape Mexican Restaurant, 131 S. Milford Road, where he was employed as a cook.   Continue reading “After public outcry, Feds nab illegal immigrant who harassed Milford teen”

New York Daily News – by Tobias Salinger

A gunman who shot an Albuquerque, N.M., police officer multiple times in a traffic stop Wednesday night has been arrested, police said.

Police believe the man opened fire on the officer around 7:45 p.m. after a struggle near a Walgreen’s at Central Ave. and Eubank Blvd. in the southeastern section of the city, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said at a news conference late Wednesday.   Continue reading “Gunman who shot Albuquerque police officer multiple times in traffic stop captured as officer fights for his life: police”

Yahoo News – by MARY HUDETZ and BOB SEAVEY

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police charged a man with murder Wednesday night in the road-rage killing of a 4-year-old girl, who was shot in the backseat of her father’s truck after he picked her up from school — a death that horrified the public.

Tony Torrez, 32, was arrested Wednesday and also charged with a series of weapons violations in the death of Lilly Garcia.   Continue reading “Man charged with murder in road-rage killing of girl, 4”

Wall Street Journal – by SIOBHAN HUGHES and KRISTINA PETERSON

WASHINGTON—In setting conditions on a run for the speakership, Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) is turning the tables on the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, which had laid out its own demands for the next speaker—but now must choose whether to endorse him or risk prolonging the chaos that has engulfed the House for almost a month.

The struggle is expected to play out over the next few days, given Mr. Ryan’s statement Tuesday that before he would run, various caucuses in the House Republican conference would have to endorse him by Friday, including the centrist Tuesday group and the Republican Study Committee, a larger caucus of conservatives within the House GOP.   Continue reading “Paul Ryan Confronts Dissident GOP Conservatives in Offer to Be House Speaker”

The Hill – by Jordain Carney

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked legislation to crack down on cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law.

Senators voted 54-45 on a measure to end debate on legislation from Sen. David Vitter. Sixty votes were needed to overcome the procedural hurdle and move toward a vote on the bill itself.   Continue reading “Senate Dems block ‘sanctuary cities’ bill”

KOAT 7 – by Devon Armijo

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —A 4-year-old girl was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon during a road rage incident on Interstate 40, and police have no idea who the killer is.

“This is a complete disrespect of human life. This is something that should not be happening in Albuquerque, New Mexico,” APD Chief Gorden Eden said.

Investigators said the girl was riding westbound with her family on I-40 around 3 p.m. For some reason, another car pulled up alongside theirs and someone started shooting. One of the bullets hit the little girl in the head.   Continue reading “4-year-old killed in road rage shooting”

Yahoo News

Washington (AFP) – A former US Drug Enforcement Administration agent was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for extortion and money laundering in connection with the Silk Road investigation.

On top of his jail time, Carl Force was ordered to pay $340,000 in restitution and to serve an additional three years of supervised release.   Continue reading “Ex-DEA agent gets 6.5 years in Silk Road case”

The Hill – by Ian Smith

The Obama administration is about to power up a massive new executive action on immigration and it’s far scarier than anyone could have imagined. Last November, when Homeland Security released its ten memos commandeering immigration policy from Congress, Secretary Johnson included a vague plan aimed at benefiting the tech industry, innocuously titled “Modernizing the Employment-Based Immigrant Visa System.” But a secret memo recently leaked on an immigration law blog now reveals that this ‘modernization’ plan will not only fast-track hundreds of thousands of work permits to employment visa-applicants in violation of longstanding U.S. worker protection laws, but will enable hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to also receive work permits despite their unlawful status. As the full details leak out from the narrow clique of immigration lawyers and lobbyists advising the President, labor advocates are scrambling to warn the public.   Continue reading “Obama’s latest plan to rewrite immigration law”

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Truth Revolt – by Trey Sanchez

Last month, the Sheahan family was facing eviction threats from the U.S. federal government for refusing a $5.2 million buyout to vacate their 400-acre mine near Area 51 that has been in their family since the late 1800s. And it’s now official: a federal judge’s pen officially took the land and handed it over to the United States Air Force.   Continue reading “Federal Judge Kicks Family Off Property Near Area 51, Gives Land to Air Force”

CNN

The FBI and Secret Service are investigating reports that non-government personal accounts associated with CIA Director John Brennan as well as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson were hacked, law enforcement officials told CNN.

The New York Post first interviewed the alleged hacker, who said he accessed an AOL email account associated with Brennan that included files regarding his security clearance application, and the hacker also claims to have accessed a Comcast account associated with Johnson.    Continue reading “U.S. investigating report email account linked to CIA director hacked”

Fox News

A pistol-packing pastor shot and killed a man who was allegedly trying to attack him with a brick on Sunday in the vestibule of a Detroit church, police said.

Cops say Deante Smith, 25, attacked the unidentified pastor and threatened several parishioners of The City of God church with a brick and hammer, FOX2 reported. Police said the attack was not random; the pastor and Smith knew each other and the two have had problems in the past.   Continue reading “Detroit pastor shoots, kills hammer-wielding church intruder”

Reuters

Oct 19 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the core provisions of two gun control laws passed in New York and Connecticut after the 2012 mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School that banned possession of semiautomatic assault weapons.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld the bans on semiautomatic weapons and large-capacity magazines, but struck down a New York provision regulating load limits and a Connecticut prohibition on the non-semiautomatic Remington 7615.   Continue reading “U.S. appeals court uphold core of N.Y., Connecticut gun laws”

WABC News

NEW YORK (WABC) — The FAA is announcing strict first-of-its-kind rules for the type of drones most popular with hobbyist pilots, confirming that the agency will lay out regulations requiring all new buyers to register their new unmanned multi-copters as part of their effort to get the popular but problematic aircraft under control.

Drones are expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season, and estimates say as many as 750,000 will be sold by Christmas.   Continue reading “Government Set to Announce New Regulations for Remote-Controlled Drones”

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Free Thought Project – by John Vibes

London, UK — The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) apologized this week after vital testimony from victims of child sexual abuse was “instantly and permanently deleted” from their servers. The agency said that the loss of data was due to a technical malfunction, which dumped an untold number of testimonies that were submitted to their official website. The agency now claims that there was no security breach, and that while the testimonies were lost, the privacy of the victims is not at risk.   Continue reading “Govt Conveniently Deleted Entire Database of Evidence Documenting Pedophile Rings”

USA Today

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed by a man he was monitoring at St. Cloud Hospital early Sunday morning, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The shooting happened on the fifth floor around 5:15 a.m. Sunday when a suspect being treated at the hospital shot and killed the deputy, who was guarding the room at the hospital’s request because of the seriousness of a domestic-related incident involving the suspect. That incident happened earlier in the week outside the St. Cloud area.   Continue reading “Deputy shot, killed by suspect at Minn. hospital”

Fox News

Authorities in Florida are searching for the gunman who opened fire Saturday night at an annual event called ZombiCon, killing one and injuring four.

Lt. Victor Medico of the Fort Myers Police Department said the shootings began at 11:45 p.m., The News-Press reported. Medico said the four people that were injured are being treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.   Continue reading “Manhunt for gunman in deadly ZombiCon shooting in Florida”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

The US is in a tough spot militarily.

In Syria, Russia and Iran have taken advantage of the fact that the plan hatched by the West and its regional allies to destabilize the Assad regime took far too long to develop. The idea was to foment discord and provide covert support for the various armed militias fighting to overthrow the government. But the effort is entering its fifth year and Assad is still there. Not only that, there have been a series of unintended (well, at least we hope they’re unintended) consequences.   Continue reading “With US Warships En Route To Islands, China Asks: “What On Earth Makes Them Think We Will Tolerate This?””