Year: 2016

Reuters

President Barack Obama on Friday designated the site of a watershed event in the history of U.S. gay rights, the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, as a national monument, the first one to honor the contributions of gay Americans.

The Stonewall Inn gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village was the scene of a police raid that triggered riots and ignited a long struggle to bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the American mainstream and guarantee their rights.   Continue reading “Obama creates first U.S. monument to gay rights at New York site”

Breitbart – by Bob Price

HOUSTON, Texas – The leader of a Houston area MS-13 gang was convicted in a Texas criminal district court in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old Texas boy. The murder was carried out with the use of a machete as four gang members hacked the boy to death.

Jose Granados-Guevara, 23, was convicted by state district court Judge Terry Mlenniken following a three-day bench trial. The judge sentenced Granados-Guevara to spend 99 years in a state prison.   Continue reading “MS-13 Gang Leader Murdered 14-Year-Old Texas Boy With Machete”

Washington’s Blog – by Eric Zuesse

Alfred de Zayas, the U.N.’s Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, is assigned the task to apply the standards of international law to proposed treaties, to determine whether they’re in accord with international law. On Friday, June 24th, he issued his finding on three large proposed treaties regarding international trade among Atlantic countries: TTIP, TISA, and CETA. Earlier, on February 2nd, he had issued a similar finding on the proposed TPP treaty between Pacific countries, and his conclusion there was the same: that the proposed treaty violates international laws, and is inconsistent with democracy.    Continue reading “U.N.’s Legal Expert Calls Proposed Trade Deals Illegal”

We received the following tale of terror from a reader.

I would like to let you know about an extremely disturbing incident that happened to my daughter and her friend while driving on I-5 south, between Seattle and Portland.

They both live in Portland, and her friend had bought a vintage van, and they went up there to get it and bring it back to Portland.   Continue reading “Terrorism on Interstate 5”

Atlas Obscura – by Sarah Laskow

The exact moment when one of the world’s most dangerous mosquitoes arrived in the Americas is unknown. It’s clear that they came from Africa, and they may have crossed the Atlantic as early as 1495, on some of the first European ships to reach Hispanola. By 1648, when yellow fever broke out on the Yucatan peninsula, Aedes aegypti had definitely arrived.

Their behavior upon arrival, though, was unusual. Most of the world’s 3,500-plus mosquito species are innocent of lust for human blood but on these long journeys across the sea, the mosquitoes that survived were the ones willing to bite humans. Female mosquitos females need blood to lay eggs. En route to America, A. aegypti learned to love ours.   Continue reading “While Brazil Was Eradicating Zika Mosquitoes, America Made Them Into Weapons”

Pogo Was Right

Mark Rumold writes:

In a dangerously flawed decision unsealed today, a federal district court in Virginia ruled that a criminal defendant has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his personal computer, located inside his home. According to the court, the federal government does not need a warrant to hack into an individual’s computer.   Continue reading “Federal Court: The Fourth Amendment Does Not Protect Your Home Computer”

Fox 13 Now

SALT LAKE CITY — Prosecutors have charged a Stockton man, accused of plotting to blow up a federal building in northern Arizona.

William Keebler, 57, was charged Wednesday with one count of attempted damage to federal property by means of fire and explosives. He is the self-described leader of the “Patriot’s Defense Force Militia.” Federal prosecutors accuse him of putting an explosive device at a Bureau of Land Management building in Mt. Trumbull, Ariz.   Continue reading “Feds charge Utah militia man with plotting to blow up federal building”

The Daily Caller – by Christian Datoc

Speaking shortly after the Supreme Court’s immigration decision, President Obama made it “very clear” that deporting illegal immigrants is not a priority of his administration.

On Thursday morning, Supreme Court upheld an injunction on Obama’s 2014 Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents policy by a 4-4 split vote.    Continue reading “Obama: SCOTUS Ruling Doesn’t Change My ‘Priorities’ — I’m Still Not Deporting Most Illegals”

The Intercept – by Murtaza Hussain

LAST MONTH, A GROUP OF STUDENTS at University of California at Irvine gathered to protest a screening of the film “Beneath the Helmet,” a documentary about the lives of recruits in the Israeli Defense Forces. Upset about the screening of a film they viewed as propaganda for a foreign military, the students were also protesting the presence of several IDF representatives who here holding a panel discussion at the screening.   Continue reading “Students In California Might Face Criminal Investigation For Protesting Film On Israeli Army”

The Intercept – by Alice Speri

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, including the FBI, have been knocking on the doors of activists and community organizers in Cleveland, Ohio, asking about their plans for the Republican National Convention in July.

As the city gears up to welcome an estimated 50,000 visitors, and an unknown number of protesters, some of the preparations and restrictions put in place by officials have angered civil rights activists. But the latest string of unannounced home visits by local and federal police mark a significant escalation in officials’ efforts to stifle protest, they say.   Continue reading “FBI And Police Are Knocking On Activists’ Doors Ahead Of Republican National Convention”

CNBC

A majority of British voters said Thursday that the United Kingdom should leave the European Union, launching markets into turmoil as investors tried to digest what the referendum means for the U.K. and the European bloc as a whole.

Although concern for the future of the EU may seem like hyperbole, nearly every member state has a political contingent in favor of leaving the union, and the successful Brexit vote may have just politically legitimized — and energized — those movements.
Continue reading “With Brexit locked in, here are other EU countries that poll high to ‘exit’”

Star Advertiser

Gov. David Ige is signing a bill that makes the state the first to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country.

Ige said in a statement today the legislation is about community safety and responsible gun ownership. He says it will help law enforcement agencies protect Hawaii residents and visitors.   Continue reading “Hawaii becomes first state to put gun owners in FBI database”

Huffington Post – by Cristian Farias

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified limits the Constitution places on police officers who seek to measure blood-alcohol level following a drunk-driving arrest.

In a fractured ruling that commanded a five-justice majority, the court said police officers need a warrant if they want to test the blood of a motorist who gets pulled over for driving under the influence, but not if they want to conduct a breath test under similar circumstances. The court issued the decision Thursday alongside major rulings on immigration and affirmation action.   Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Cops Need A Warrant For Blood Test After Drunk-Driving Arrest”