From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
New York Post – by Aaron Short, Lorena Mongelli, Larry Celona and Joe Tacopino
A chemist, an art expert and three Wall Street executives were the five men killed when their Metro-North train slammed into an SUV, friends said Wednesday.
Robert Dirks, a 36-year-old father of two, was remembered by his father for not only being a brilliant scientist, but a doting dad to his kids. Continue reading “Investment banker, art curator among 6 killed in train crash”
Reuters – by DAN WHITCOMB AND MICHAEL FLEEMAN
Responding to an outbreak of measles that has infected more than 100 people, two California lawmakers said on Wednesday they would introduce legislation to end the right of parents in the state to exempt their children from school vaccinations based on personal beliefs.
California public health officials say 92 people have been diagnosed with measles in the state, many of them linked to an outbreak that they believe began when an infected person from outside the country visited Disneyland in late December. Continue reading “California lawmakers seek to end ‘personal belief’ vaccine exemptions”
Wall Street Journal – by Hannah Karp
There are plenty of people listening to talk radio. But over the past three years, it has become increasingly difficult to make money off it.
More than 50 million people in the U.S. tune in each week to news-talk radio stations that carry advertising, making it radio’s second-most popular format, behind country music, according to Nielsen.
But many national advertisers have fled from such stations in recent years, seeking to avoid associating their brands with potentially controversial programming. As a result, advertising on talk stations now costs about half what it does on music stations, given comparable audience metrics, according to industry executives. Continue reading “Talk Radio’s Advertising Problem”
Reuters – by DAVID GAFFEN AND SEBASTIEN MALO
Investigators examining the circumstances of a New York commuter train accident that killed six people said on Wednesday they were collecting recording devices from the site where the train hit a vehicle stalled on the tracks in the railroad’s worst-ever accident.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said five passengers died in the Metro-North train crash near the suburb of White Plains on Tuesday evening, not six, as he had previously announced. The woman driving the Jeep Cherokee that the train struck while it was stuck on the tracks also died. Continue reading “Investigators seek clues at deadly New York train crash site”
Hip-hop loving 12 year-old Eddie Huang just wants to fit in. His Taiwanese immigrant dad Louis is trying to make a go of running a country-style steak house, and mom Jessica finds little in common with her new, white, roller-blading Florida neighbors.
The Huang family is “Fresh Off the Boat” in U.S. network television’s first Asian-American family comedy in 20 years, premiering on ABC on Wednesday. And despite a title taken from a common put-down for immigrants, the Asian-American community appears ready for the program. Continue reading “‘Fresh Off the Boat’ puts focus on Asian-American families”
Washington Times – by Stephen Dinan
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen confirmed Tuesday that illegal immigrants granted amnesty from deportation under President Obama’s new policies would be able to get extra refunds from the IRS for money they earned while working illegally, as long as they filed returns during those years.
Illegal immigrants who are granted the amnesty will be given official Social Security numbers, which means they can go back and amend up to three years of previous tax forms to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, potentially claiming billions of dollars in additional payments they were ineligible for before the amnesty. Continue reading “IRS offers extra tax refunds to illegal immigrants granted amnesty by Obama”
Jordan vowed a “strong, earthshaking and decisive” response to Islamic State’s grisly murder of a Jordanian pilot captured when his jet crashed in Syria in December.
An online video emerged Tuesday appearing to show Muath al-Kaseasbeh locked in a cage, doused with gasoline and burned alive. He apparently was killed on January 3 after carrying out U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on the Islamic State militants. Continue reading “Jordan Vows Revenge for Pilot’s Grisly Death”
DENVER (CBS4) – Lawmakers including Colorado Congresswoman Diana Degette are asking the Committee on Energy and Commerce to hold a hearing on the measles outbreak and the importance of vaccinations.
The letter points out important facts regarding the recent spread in measles, which began at Disneyland in December 2014. Continue reading “Lawmakers Ask For Hearing On Measles Vaccination”
The Free Thought Project – by Cassandra Rules
The Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks the deaths of police officers, is reporting zero officer deaths from gunfire in 2015.
Line of Duty Deaths: 13
Automobile accident: 5
Heart attack: 3
Struck by vehicle: 2
9/11 related illness: 1
Gunfire (Accidental): 1
Vehicle pursuit: 1
Front Page Mag – by Daniel Greenfield
The usual clickbait sites are gleefully blaming “anti-vaxxers”, parents opposed to vaccines for their children, for the measles outbreak. They are certainly a safe target, but overlooked is the simple fact that there would be no outbreaks without immigration from countries where measles is widespread.
So much vitriol is spent on blaming parents who don’t vaccinate, while blaming those who import the disease, especially Obama with his border rush amnesty, is politically incorrect. Continue reading “Why Blame “Anti-Vaxxers” Instead of Immigrants for Measles Outbreaks?”
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LAPEER COUNTY, MI — An 11-year-old girl was able to scare off a suspect — later taken into custody — during a home invasion in Lapeer County’s North Branch Township.
Deputies from the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department responded around 3:45 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 to a Five Lakes Road home where the girl was home alone when a vehicle pulled into the driveway. Continue reading “11-year-old uses shotgun to scare off suspect during Lapeer County home invasion”
Liberty Blitzkrieg – by Michael Krieger
During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countries — roughly 70% of the nations on the planet — according to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt, a public affairs officer with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This capped a three-year span in which the country’s most elite forces were active in more than 150 different countries around the world, conducting missions ranging from kill/capture night raids to training exercises. And this year could be a record-breaker. Only a day before the failed raid that ended Luke Somers life — just 66 days into fiscal 2015 — America’s most elite troops had already set foot in 105 nations, approximately 80% of 2014’s total. Continue reading “The Golden Age of Black Ops – In Fiscal 2015 U.S. Special Forces Have Already Deployed to 105 Nations”
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Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s pro-Russian rebel chief on Monday branded the country’s leaders “miserable” Jews in an apparent anti-Semitic jibe.
Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, claimed that Kiev’s pro-Western leaders were “miserable representatives of the great Jewish people”. Continue reading “Ukraine run by ‘miserable’ Jews: rebel chief”
The Daily Caller – by Neil Munro
President Barack Obama has quietly handed out an extra 5.46 million work permits for non-immigrant foreigners who arrived as tourists, students or illegal immigrants since 2009, according to federal documents released by a Freedom of Information Act request.
“The executive branch is operating a huge parallel work-authorization system outside the bounds of the [immigration] laws and limits written by Congress [and which] inevitably reduces job opportunities for Americans,” said Jessica Vaughan, the policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, while filed the FOIA request. Continue reading “Obama Quietly Adds 5.46 Million Foreigners To Economy”
Feb. 2, 1887: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, holds its first Groundhog Day celebration
The first Groundhog Day celebration wasn’t such a picnic for Punxsutawney Phil’s progenitors. When Punxsutawneyans gathered on a hilltop known as Gobbler’s Knob on this day, Feb. 2, in 1887, they did so not just to celebrate the weather-forecasting wizardry of the groundhog — the rodent was also on the menu. Continue reading “The Original Groundhog Day Involved Eating the Groundhog”
Workers at nine US oil refineries and chemical plants across four states, producing some 10 percent of the country’s fuel, went on strike after their union announced that negotiations on their salaries and safety concerns failed.
The mass walkout of refinery workers – the first since 1980 – took place on Sunday, after the United Steelworkers union (USW) rejected the fifth offer by the industry’s main negotiator, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which in turn halted talks. Continue reading “Workers on strike at 9 oil refineries producing 10% of US fuel”
New York Times – by MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT
WASHINGTON — With Russian-backed separatists pressing their attacks in Ukraine,NATO’s military commander, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, now supports providing defensive weapons and equipment to Kiev’s beleaguered forces, and an array of administration and military officials appear to be edging toward that position, American officials said Sunday.
President Obama has made no decisions on providing such lethal assistance. But after a series of striking reversals that Ukraine’s forces have suffered in recent weeks, the Obama administration is taking a fresh look at the question of military aid. Continue reading “U.S. Considers Supplying Arms to Ukraine Forces, Officials Say”
Sent to us by the author, Kandy Blanco
I could have died on September 2, 2014, because of an illegal partnership and conspiracy involving a dangerous conflict-of-interest between the Pasco County, Florida Sheriff’s Department and a supposedly not-for-profit powerful hospital corporation called Morton Plant Mease Hospital / BayCare Health System. A Pasco County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to my 911 call, which I made while seeking help for my medical condition, and he came into my home and abducted me. He took me away from my home under the false pretense of promising to take me to a hospital, himself, instead of calling for an EMS unit with trained paramedics to medically evaluate me. The Deputy never did take me to a hospital, which I desperately needed. This was done in order for the Pasco County, Florida Sheriff’s Department to illegally financially help the above-mentioned hospital corporation. The terrible chain of events that followed could happen to any innocent citizen and clearly violated multiple Federal laws, as well as my Constitutional Civil Rights and liberties. Continue reading “I Was Abducted By a Sheriff’s Deputy To Produce Illegal Corporate Profits”
The Christian Science Monitor – by Seth Robbins
Thousands of immigrants seeking legalization through the U.S. court system have had their hearings canceled and are being told by the government that it may be 2019 or later before their futures are resolved.
Some immigration lawyers fear the delay will leave their clients at risk of deportation as evidence becomes dated, witnesses disappear, sponsoring relatives die and dependent children become adults. Continue reading “Immigrants see court dates cancelled as Justice Department is overwhelmed with cases”
Voice of America
CBS Denver
Time – by Jennifer Latson
RT