From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
FARGO, N.D. (KFGO) – Fargo city commissioners have approved first reading of a revised ordinance covering a new form of wireless infrastructure.
Cities must conform to a Federal Communications Commission order that streamlines the process of installing new antennas for 5-G wireless service. Continue reading “Fargo City Leaders Approve Plan For 5G”
Drug traffickers are stopping scientists from reaching vampire bats, which could hold the cure for high blood pressure.
Although the blood-sucking mammals are more associated with Halloween, researchers discovered their venom is rich in proteins that boost blood flow. Continue reading “Vampire bats in a remote part of Mexico could hold the cure for high blood pressure”
The Jamestown Sun – by John Hageman
BISMARCK — People who fraudulently claim their dog is a service animal could face a $100 fine under a bill considered by a North Dakota legislative committee Wednesday, Jan. 16.
House Bill 1259, introduced by a group of Republican lawmakers led by Jamestown Rep. Bernie Satrom, would make it an infraction to falsely claim that a pet is a service animal in an attempt to “gain admission to a public place” or obtain housing. Satrom said his bill is meant to deter what he said were increasingly common abuses of service animal ownership to “gain special access and accommodations.” Continue reading “North Dakota legislators eye penalties for service animal fraud”
The Jamestown Sun – by John Hageman
BISMARCK — A bipartisan group of North Dakota lawmakers, police chiefs and education officials unveiled legislation Tuesday, Jan. 15, allowing officers to seize firearms from people deemed dangerous, a proposal that could face some pushback in the gun-friendly Legislature.
House Bill 1537 would allow family members and law enforcement to seek a court-issued “public safety protection order” preventing somebody from possessing a firearm for up to one year, although a judge could extend the order. A petition could be filed because a gun owner has committed or threatened violence in the past year, has been convicted of or arrested for domestic or sexual assault or has been cruel to animals, among other reasons. Continue reading “A life-saving tool or ‘gun-grabbing’ maneuver? North Dakota lawmakers unveil firearm seizure bill”
Reading Eagle – by Beth Brelje
When an infant is born addicted to drugs, the mother cannot be charged with child abuse. That was the Dec. 28 decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which found that a fetus is not a child and therefore not protected under the state’s child protection law.
A state senator from western Pennsylvania who objects to the decision plans to offer a bill to protect them. Continue reading “Pa. state senator wants to punish women who use drugs while pregnant”
Family members of Coast Guardsmen in Maine say they are both furious and terrified about the economic impact they are facing because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“It’s very scary to know that our bills are due in a few days and people don’t seem to care if we can pay them,” said Lindsay Scott, whose husband has served in the Coast Guard for nearly 20 years. “It’s just a very big slap in the face.” Continue reading “With bills due and paychecks in doubt, Maine Coast Guard families see shutdown as ‘big slap in the face’”
An infectious brain disease that has been killing deer, elk and moose both in the wild and on “captive farms” continues to stalk the land, expanding its domain to 23 states and two Canadian provinces since it was first identified in captive mule deer in a Colorado research facility in 1967.
Known as chronic wasting disease, or CWD, it has baffled scientists for decades. Where did it come from, and why is it spreading across the landscape? What health risks might it pose to humans who eat parts of infected animals? And can cattle get it from infected deer, elk, and moose, thus introducing it into the human food chain? Continue reading “‘Surprising’ Discovery Made About Chronic Wasting Disease”
Counter Punch – by Patrick Jordan, Steve Kelly
A newsfeed came across our inboxes that promoted a notion that China was somehow misbehaving regarding the use of CRISPR to create edited humans. The dialectic was a non-sequitur because earlier press releases on the efficiency of CRISPR read like a high school newspaper writing about the success of its stageplay being a success because it was over, yet was a total train wreck of a production. CRISPR can indeed edit a genome for the target mutations, however there can be a hundred downstream changes that were neither intended or predicted or controllable. That used to be called: The Operation Was A Success But The Patient Died. Continue reading “When Worlds Collide”
A mother and son from Honduras have found shelter in Iowa after traveling with thousands of migrants from Central America. The family arrived in Iowa City on Christmas Day, after fleeing gang violence in their home of Choloma, Honduras.
Jackie Torres Toro and her 10 year old son Isaac Lopez Torres are getting settled in at the Iowa City Catholic Worker House, an old Victorian home on a tree-lined residential street where a team of volunteers offer meals, a safe space, and transitional housing for those in need. They’re hoping to get Isaac enrolled in school by the time classes start back in January, and are working on getting treatment for his seizure disorder. Continue reading “Honduran Family Finds Shelter, Seeks Asylum in Iowa City”
When the roughly 10 percent of adult Montanans with a substance-use disorder commit a crime, the state lacks enough drug courts to help them stay out of incarceration and navigate treatment. That’s according to a new report on Montana treatment courts released Thursday.
Most, about 90 percent, of those Montanas with a substance-use disorder aren’t receiving treatment for their illness. Continue reading “Report Finds Montana Needs Funding To Expand Drug Courts”
As the new year’s legislative session begins January 3, negotiations over the next two-year state budget will dominate lawmakers’ attention. The biggest request so far is for the state Department of Child Services.
Indiana foster parent advocates say the state needs to increase its per diem – the amount parents get each day from the state to help care for the kids in their care. Continue reading “Foster Advocates Call For Per Diem Increase”
Florida’s $8 billion citrus industry is moving into its prime harvest months of December and January, and supermarkets around the country will be flooded with Florida oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits. But few know that the citrus business owes much of its success to the U.S. military.
The frantic effort to feed the troops who fought overseas in World War II led to orange juice becoming an American breakfast staple. Of particular concern was the risk of scurvy, a severe vitamin C deficiency that can lead to can lead to anemia, bleeding, pain, swelling, sometimes death. It was a common malady throughout the history of warfare, especially among sailors who had little access to fruits and vegetables. Continue reading “A frantic effort to nourish WWII troops led to this common breakfast staple”
OCEAN CITY, Md-If you’re a wanted criminal, you may want to steer clear from driving in Ocean City.
The Ocean City Police Department has recently installed license plate readers at all entrances into Ocean City. Continue reading “License Plate Readers Come To Ocean City”
There will be another effort in the Legislature to make North Dakota’s seat belt law a primary offense.
Right now, it’s a secondary offense – meaning you have to be pulled over for something else before you can be ticketed for not buckling up.
Sen. Curt Kreun is the primary sponsor of a bill to make it a primary offense. Continue reading “‘Primary enforcement’ seat belt bill filed”
When Toni and Jim Hoy adopted their son Daniel through the foster care system, he was an affectionate toddler. They did not plan to give him back to the state of Illinois, ever.
“Danny was this cute, lovable little blond-haired, blue-eyed baby,” Jim says.
Toni recalls times Daniel would reach over, put his hands on her face and squish her cheeks. “And he would go, ‘You pretty, Mom,’ ” Toni says. “Oh my gosh, he just melted my heart when he would say these very loving, endearing things to me.” Continue reading “To Get Mental Health Help For A Child, Desperate Parents Relinquish Custody”
Jan 02, 2019 — Three counties in the North Country will receive new mobile child advocacy centers.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state will channel $4.5 million dollars of federal money to rural communities to fund this project. The counties of St. Lawrence, Hamilton and Franklin will each receive $250,000 to purchase new mobile centers. Continue reading “New mobile child advocacy centers coming to the North Country”
MONTPELIER, VT. A lawsuit filed by an immigrant rights group says the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has forwarded information about immigrant farm workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leading to the arrest and deportation of some of those individuals.
The suit, filed in November by the group Migrant Justice and some of its members with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, says some immigrant farm workers were targeted for deportation after they obtained Vermont drivers’ licenses, Vermont Public Radio reported. Continue reading “Suit says Vermont continuing to feed immigrant info to feds”