From the Trenches World Report

Reuters

ANDOVER, Mass. (Reuters) – At least six people were injured and hundreds were ordered to evacuate their homes following a series of 70 explosions that rocked three communities near Boston on Thursday, apparently triggered by a gas pipeline rupture, local officials said.

Live TV images showed firefighters battling blazes in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, around 25 miles (40 km)north of the U.S. city. The streets were darkened where authorities had cut off electricity and were shutting down gas service in an effort to stop further blazes.   Continue reading “Multiple injuries in dozens of gas blasts near Boston: officials”

Autoblog – by Zac Palmer

A 75-year old Cleveland man ended up trapped in his 2006 Cadillac XLR for 14 hours last month, according to a story reported by the Detroit Free Press. The owner of the car, Peter Pyros, hopped into his roadster to back out onto his driveway, but he quickly learned that the battery was dead. He was “trapped” because the doors use an electric button to activate the door latch to open the door. Since the battery was dead, the buttons did nothing. Continue reading “Man trapped in Cadillac XLR for 14 hours after battery dies”

MySA

America’s biggest truck-stop company wants to be the solution to some of the shortages bedeviling the Permian shale basin.

Pilot Flying J, better known for its more than 750 roadside travel centers, announced two deals earlier this year to almost double its crude-hauling capacity to 220,000 barrels a day. The company backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has plans for even more growth, with expansions into wastewater trucking and sand delivery that would add two more services crucial to hydraulic fracturing in the U.S.   Continue reading “Truck-stop king looks to corner hauling in chaotic Permian”

Anti-War – by Jason Ditz

Turkish officials announced Wednesday that they sent hundreds of additional special forces, along with tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment, across the border into Syria’s Idlib Province. They are intended to reinforce Turkish military posts in northern Syria.

Turkish officials say that the intention is to deter the Syrian military from launching an offensive against the Idlib Province, which is under the control of various Islamist rebel factions, the largest of which is al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. Turkey is aligned with some of these fighters in supporting regime change in Syria.   Continue reading “Turkey Sends Troops, Tanks to Syria’s Idlib to ‘Deter’ an Offensive”

Free Thought Project – by John Vibes

New York, NY — This week, it was reported that seven NYPD cops of various ranks have been arrested for being involved in a massive prostitution and gambling ring. The officers have reportedly been under investigation since 2015 when the city’s internal affairs department received a tip from a whistleblower in the department.

Two detectives were placed on modified duty after the arrests, but it is not clear what their relation to the case is. An additional 30 police officers are wanted for questioning in relation to this investigation. Forty other civilian suspects were also arrested in the investigation, according to an NYPD spokesman.   Continue reading “7 NYPD Cops Arrested Dozens More Investigated For Running Massive Prostitution Ring”

The Hill – by Miranda Green

The Forest Service plans to submit a rule that would make it easier to explore oil and gas drilling, as well as mineral mining, in National Forests.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the Forest Service, is planning to revise the contents of the agency’s oil and gas resources regulations, according to one advance notice of proposed rule-making submitted to the Federal Register on Wednesday.  Continue reading “Administration announces plan to streamline oil and gas extraction in national forests”

WCCB – by Justin Pryor

MORGANTON, NC — A former Lieutenant with the Burke County Narcotics Task Force has been indicted for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars in drug funds.

Former Lt. Jody Price was served a Bill of Indictment Wednesday for Embezzlement by a Local Government Employee. According to investigators with the SBI, Price is accused of embezzling more than $16,000.   Continue reading “Former Burke County Narcotics Lieutenant Indicted On Embezzlement Charges”

MassPrivateI

Earlier this month it was revealed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) now includes all fifty states.

“The NVDRS claims to be a surveillance system that pulls together data on violent deaths in all 50 states including information about homicides, such as homicides perpetrated by an intimate partner (e.g., boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband), child abuse and neglect or child abuse homicides, suicides, and deaths where individuals are killed by law enforcement in the line of duty. “   Continue reading “The CDC’s “National Violent Death Reporting System” posts inaccurate police killings figures”

Yahoo News

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A gunman killed five people, including his wife, before turning the gun on himself as a Kern County sheriff’s deputy closed in Wednesday, authorities said.

There was no immediate word on what sparked the shootings that took place at a home and a business in Bakersfield, which is some 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.   Continue reading “5 slain in Southern California shootings; gunman kills self”

Breitbart – by John Binder

The illegal alien charged with murdering 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts has reportedly been granted $5,000 in American taxpayer dollars to fight the first-degree murder charges against him.

Last month, law enforcement officials announced that Tibbetts’ body was found in a cornfield in her rural hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa after she was last seen jogging on July 18.   Continue reading “Report: Illegal Alien Accused of Murdering Mollie Tibbetts Given $5K in Taxpayer Money to Fight Charges”

CNN

Hurricane experts are throwing cold water on an idea backed by billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates aimed at controlling the weather.

Gates and a dozen other scientists have raised eyebrows by submitting patent applications for a technology to reduce the danger of approaching hurricanes by cooling ocean temperatures.   Continue reading “Can Bill Gates stop hurricanes? Scientists doubt it”

The New American – by Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.

A recent political statement made by the CEO of Levi Strauss is likely to see the denim company torn apart just like the pair of jeans on the company’s iconic label.

Chip Bergh, the San Francisco-based company’s chief executive, announced the creation of the Safer Tomorrow Fund, an initiative aimed at “working to end gun violence in America.”   Continue reading “Levi Strauss to Spend Over $1 Million in Support of Increasing Gun Control”