From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
A judge delivered a not guilty verdict in the trial of a Baltimore, Maryland police officer for crimes related to the death of arrestee Freddie Gray last year. Gray’s death triggered demonstrations and riots in the majority-black city.
The verdict was delivered on Monday morning by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams. Continue reading “Judge finds officer not guilty on all charges related to Freddie Gray death”
A “shocking” 91 percent of young American voters would like to see an independent candidate on the November ballot to challenge presumptive candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a new poll shows.
According to a Data Targeting survey, 55 percent of Americans polled between May 12 and 15 favor having an independent presidential candidate to consider this year, in addition to the two traditional party choices. Continue reading “Nearly every young American voter wants an independent candidate on the ballot – poll”
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — All seven crew members made it out safely when their B-52 crashed on Guam shortly after takeoff, the U.S. Air Force said. No injuries were reported. The plane aborted on takeoff and caught fire at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday Guam time, Pacific Air Forces public affairs said. It crashed on the flight line of the base.
“We are thankful that the air crew are safe,” Brig. Gen. Douglas Cox, 36th Wing Commander, said in a news release. “Because of their quick thinking and good judgment in this emergency situation, the aircrew not only saved their lives but averted a more catastrophic incident.” Continue reading “All 7 crew members safe as B-52 crashes on Guam”
NEW YORK (AP) — Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to an exclusive poll released Thursday, a signal that despite years of recovery from the Great Recession, Americans’ financial conditions remain precarious as ever.
These financial difficulties span all income levels, according to the poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Seventy-five percent of people in households making less than $50,000 a year would have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill. But when income rose to between $50,000 and $100,000, the difficulty decreased only modestly to 67 percent. Continue reading “Poll: Two-thirds of US would struggle to cover $1,000 crisis”
A Washington, DC judge has struck down a key part of the capital’s ban on concealed firearms, questioning the provision’s constitutionality. Police can no longer ask for “a good reason” when a person requests a concealed-carry permit.
Until now, DC police would only approve permits for people who had a “good reason to fear injury” or those whose jobs involve high risk, like routinely transporting large amounts of cash. Continue reading “DC judge halts US capital’s ‘overly zealous’ ban on concealed guns”
As Brazil’s left-wing president, Dilma Rousseff, has been suspended from office to face trial for disregarding budget laws, details have emerged on key figures involved in what Rousseff supporters are calling a coup, hinting at a covert plot involving Washington.
Following last week’s vote in the Brazilian Senate that led to the suspension of the country’s first female president, the left-wing politician herself noted that she “never imagined that it would be necessary to fight a coup in this country.” Continue reading “‘Made in USA’: 3 key signs that point to Washington’s hand in Brazil’s ‘coup’”
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains crashed down onto three villages in the central hills of Sri Lanka, and more than 200 families were missing Wednesday and feared buried under the mud and debris, the Sri Lankan Red Cross said.
Sixteen bodies have already been recovered and about 180 people have been rescued from the enormous piles of mud unleashed at around 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to military spokesman Brig. Jayanath Jayaweera. Continue reading “Over 200 families feared buried by landslides in Sri Lanka”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California city has moved to install surveillance cameras along a stretch of highway as authorities investigate a spate of freeway shootings that have taken the lives of six people, including a young mother of four, in the suburbs east of San Francisco.
The decision on Monday by Pittsburg is the latest action aimed at solving and stopping the attacks that also injured 11 people in the past year. Police say all 20 drive-by shootings on or near two major highways have been gang-related. Continue reading “Authorities move to stop California highway killings”
Huffington Post – by Lee Moran
A suspected white supremacist who resembles Adolf Hitler faces numerous charges after allegedly being caught with a stash of guns and ammunition.
Cops found convicted felon Bruce Post III, 42, lurking in woodland in Lacey Township, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon sporting a Hitler-style mustache and hairstyle, the New York Daily News reports. He was with another man and immediately aroused their suspicion. Continue reading “Suspected White Supremacist With Hitler Mustache Arrested Over Guns Cache”
BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of bombings struck outdoor markets and a restaurant in Shiite-dominated neighborhoods of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 69 people, officials said — the latest in deadly militant attacks far from the front lines in the country’s north and west where Iraqi forces are battling the Islamic State group.
In an online statement, IS claimed responsibility only for the deadliest bombing of the day, which took place in Baghdad’s northeastern Shaab neighborhood and where at least 34 people were killed and 75 others were wounded. Continue reading “Wave of bombings hits Baghdad Shiite areas, killing 69”
BEIRUT (AP) — The Russian military is constructing a new army base in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, within the protected zone that holds the archaeological site listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site and without asking for permission from relevant authorities, an American heritage organization and a top Syrian archaeologist said Tuesday.
The American School of Oriental Research’s Cultural Heritage Initiative posted pictures from the satellite imagery and analytics company DigitalGlobe that show the construction on the edge of the ancient site that was damaged by the Islamic State group, which held Palmyra for 10 months. Continue reading “Russians building army base at Syria’s Palmyra site”
SEATTLE (AP) — One of two brothers who were charged with first-degree murder in the presumed killing of a missing Washington state couple was taken into custody Monday in San Diego, authorities said. Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Tony Clyde Reed, 49, crossed into the United States from Mexico and was arrested by U.S. Marshals.
Reed had arranged to be taken into custody, she said. He has been booked into the San Diego County jail and Ireton said she didn’t yet have information about extraditing Reed to Washington state. The whereabouts of his brother, 53-year-old John Blaine Reed, remain unknown. Continue reading “Man sought in disappearance of Washington couple arrested”
Global crude benchmarks are trading at six-month highs after Goldman Sachs analysts said the market is now in supply shortage.
Brent crude prices grew to nearly $49 per barrel during Monday’s trading. West Texas Intermediate soared to over $47 per barrel, their highest level since November.
“The oil market has gone from nearing storage saturation to being in deficit much earlier than we expected,” Goldman said. Continue reading “Oil prices surge as Goldman reports supply deficit”
An earthquake preliminarily measured at 5.6 magnitude has hit off the Japanese coast, just north of Tokyo, Japanese national broadcaster NHK reports.
Local news outlets say the quake was felt in the Saitama and Tokyo areas, with buildings swaying.
Metro operations were briefly suspended on all routes in Tokyo, but services restarted four minutes later. Continue reading “5.6 magnitude earthquake shakes buildings in Tokyo”
MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — Security was tight as mourners packed a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall on Sunday evening for a memorial for megastar Prince, who worshipped there before he died last month. Traffic cones lined the streets in front of the church in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka, and media and fans were kept well back from the invitation-only event. City spokeswoman Kari Spreeman said last week that police were preparing for up to 500 people, including up to 50 high-profile guests. Continue reading “Memorial for Prince held at his Jehovah’s Witnesses church”
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Despite bitter resistance in Oklahoma for years to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, Republican leaders in this conservative state are now confronting something that alarms them even more: a huge $1.3 billion hole in the budget that threatens to do widespread damage to the state’s health care system.
So, in what would be the grandest about-face among rightward leaning states, Oklahoma is now moving toward a plan to expand its Medicaid program to bring in billions of federal dollars from Obama’s new health care system. Continue reading “In surprising turnabout, Oklahoma eyes Medicaid expansion”
Civil rights attorney Michael Ratner, defender of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, and Guantánamo Bay detainees, died Wednesday in New York at the age of 72.
The Columbia Law School graduate practiced in the spirit of William Kunstler, who represented Martin Luther King Jr, the Chicago 7, Black Panthers, and Weather Underground, and founded the legal advocacy organization Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). Continue reading “Michael Ratner, Wikileaks lawyer & civil liberties legend, dies at age 72”
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — It’s become a common scene at the Oklahoma Capitol: While construction workers, employees and visiting schoolchildren wait patiently to walk through the metal detectors guarding the entrances, a man with a briefcase arrives and breezes straight through the checkpoint without stopping, setting off the alarms. The security officers on duty flinch but look away.
Just a lawmaker in a hurry? That’s all it is, some members say. But security officials are grumbling about a trend among some conservative legislators who are now declining to submit to the weapons screening that has been required at government buildings for years. And suspicions are growing about a likely reason: they’re armed. Continue reading “Guns are banned, but are Oklahoma lawmakers packing?”
BALTIMORE (AP) — The second trial in the Freddie Gray case gets underway Thursday, and it will be different than the one that ended last year with a hung jury. This trial is before a judge, and it has a better chance of ending with a verdict. It is also likely to signal what may happen with the officers who face similar charges.
Officer Edward Nero, one of six Baltimore officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, faces assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment charges. Nero and two other officers arrested Gray after making eye contact with him and chasing him in West Baltimore last year. Prosecutors say the officers detained him illegally. Continue reading “Trial begins for officer charged in Freddie Gray case”
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Senate voted Thursday to impeach President Dilma Rousseff after a months-long fight that laid bare the country’s fury over corruption and economic decay, hurling Latin America’s largest country into political turmoil just months before it hosts the Summer Olympics.
Rousseff’s enraged backers called the move a coup d’etat and threatened wide-scale protests and strikes. Her foes, meanwhile, insisted that she had broken the law, and that the country’s deep political, social and economic woes could only be tackled without her. Continue reading “Brazil’s Senate impeaches president Rousseff; trial ahead”