From the Trenches World Report

Boston Globe – by Danny McDonald

A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to the assault weapons ban in Massachusetts, in what Attorney General Maura Healey called a “defeat for the gun lobby.”

The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, on Friday affirmed a federal judge’s ruling that last year dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed by gun advocates and a group of gun retailers.  Continue reading “Appeals court rejects challenge to Massachusetts assault weapons ban”

Reason – by Jacob Sullum

This month Colorado became the 15th state to enact a “red flag” law that authorizes court orders forbidding gun possession by people deemed a threat to themselves or others. The new law, which has drawn strong criticism from Second Amendment advocates, including some county sheriffs, illustrates the civil liberties concerns raised by such attempts to identify and disarm people prone to suicide or homicide. Continue reading “Colorado’s New ‘Red Flag’ Law Illustrates the Pitfalls of Disarming People Based on Their Future Behavior”

BuzzFeed – by Tom Namako

The rabbi who founded the Chabad of Poway synagogue that was allegedly targeted Saturday by a 19-year-old gunman described a horrifying but also spiritually uplifting scene during and after the attack, one with tales of heroism against the shooter and unspeakable grief as one of the congregants lay dying on the lobby floor.

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, in a news conference Sunday, delivered a step-by-step recounting of the attack that police say came from a man armed with an assault-style weapon who wrote a manifesto of hate against Jewish people. At least two of Goldstein’s fingers were shot off in the assault.  Continue reading ““We Are A Jewish Nation That Will Stand Tall”: The Rabbi Whose Synagogue Was Attacked Delivered A Sermon After His Fingers Were Shot Off”

Breitbart – by John Binder and Kristina Wong

The Department of Defense is planning to spend $7.4 million on a troop mission at the United States-Mexico border that includes feeding and caring for migrants and border crossers, the agency announced Monday afternoon.

The mission will involve sending 320 more U.S. troops heading to the southern border to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take care of migrants who have crossed the U.S. border.  Continue reading “Pentagon Approves $7.4M for Troops to Feed, Care for Border Crossers”

CNN

It’s the second attempt in court that Trump has made this month to thwart the Democratic-led House of Representatives from investigating his financial history. Continue reading “Trump team sues Deutsche Bank and Capital One to keep them from turning over financial records to Congress”

Phys Org – by University of Oregon

With four years of data from 268 seismometers on the ocean floor and several hundred on land, researchers have found anomalies in the upper mantle below both ends of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. They may influence the location, frequency and strength of earthquake events along the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

The anomalies, which reflect regions with lower seismic wave velocities than elsewhere beneath the fault line, point to pieces of the Earth’s upper mantle that are rising and buoyant because of melting rock and possibly elevated temperatures, said Miles Bodmer, a University of Oregon doctoral student who led a study now online as an accepted paper by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.  Continue reading “Pieces of mantle found rising under north and south ends of Cascadia fault”

ABC News

A 25-year-old man is accused of killing seven people — including his parents and uncle — in slayings that unfolded at two separate crime scenes in Sumner County, Tennessee, authorities said.

Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley called the killings one of “the most horrific cases” he has covered. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch on Monday described it as “gruesome” and “complex.”  Continue reading “Suspect’s parents, uncle among 7 killed in ‘gruesome’ mass slayings in Tennessee”

Middle East Monitor

Israeli occupation authorities allowed settlers to celebrate Passover at the site of the former Amona outpost in the northern West Bank, despite the fact that the location is a closed military zone.

According to Haaretz, the site “became a recreation spot for Jewish settlers during the Passover holiday”, even though the Palestinians who own the land on the hill “are still not allowed access”.  Continue reading “Israel lets settlers spend Passover at former outpost where Palestinian landowners remain excluded”

AZ Central – by Rafael Carranza

TUCSON — Border Patrol officials have begun releasing migrant families in Tucson because they lack the space to detain them and immigration officials are unable to take them into custody.

The practice has been going on for about a month, according to the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector, which covers most of Arizona’s border with Mexico.  Continue reading “Border Patrol is now releasing migrant families directly in Tucson”

Breitbart – by Michael Patrick Leahy

The public school systems in Portland, Oregon and several other local communities have announced they will shut down on Wednesday, May 8, due to a teacher walk out organized by the Oregon Education Association. The action is supported by the state’s informal #RedforEd teachers groups.

The Oregonian reported that “Portland, North Clackamas and Gresham-Barlow schools told families this week they will cancel class on May 8 due to a planned statewide teacher walkout over school funding.”  Continue reading “#RedforEd: Oregon Teacher Walk Out Forcing Portland Public School Shutdown on May 8”