From the Trenches World Report

Mail.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Ilhan Omar escaped her war-torn homeland of Somalia as a child and grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the United States as a preteen. She learned English by watching American television.

Years later, she became the nation’s first and only Somali-American lawmaker when she won a seat in the Minnesota House. Now she’s aiming for another spot in history: the first Somali-American member of Congress.   Continue reading “Nation’s 1st Somali-American lawmaker eyes seat in Congress”

Mail.com

DETROIT (AP) — The head of the Girl Scouts says that while the organization is disappointed that the Boy Scouts have decided to accept girls it is focused on helping “parents understand the benefits of Girl Scouts.”

“At Girl Scouts, we’re going to stay completely focused on girls. The ‘girl’ is going to stay in Girl Scouting,” Sylvia Acevedo, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We were disappointed that an organization that we had partnered with for 100 years decided to accept girls, but you know what? Our focus is on what we do really well.”   Continue reading “CEO says she’s devoted to keeping the ‘Girl’ in Girl Scouts”

Mail.com

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The Trump administration’s tough talk on immigration did not deter Telma Ramirez from making the trip from El Salvador to seek asylum in the United States. She arrived at the border in Tijuana with her 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter only to find a crush of other immigrant asylum-seekers already in line ahead of them.

The 27-year-old mother had been checking in at the Mexican entrance to the border crossing to see if civilian volunteers were close to calling their numbers, reminiscent of a host station at a crowded restaurant. Finally, on the 20th day, Ramirez made it to the front of the line to come across the border.   Continue reading “US asylum seekers wait their turn on Mexican border”

RT

For the first time since the height of Cold War, Sweden has called its entire Home Guard force – 22,000 reservists – for snap exercises. The drills were supposed to bolster country’s “defensive and operational capabilities.”

Sweden mobilized all 40 Home Guard battalions in an unprecedented exercise that has not been held since 1975. The drills marked the National Day of Sweden, celebrated on June 6.  Continue reading “War cry: Sweden mobilizes all its reservists for 1st time in 40 years”

Bloomberg

Jerry Morales, the mayor of Midland, Texas, and a local restaurateur, is being whipsawed by the latest Permian Basin shale-oil boom.

It’s fueling the region and starving it at the same time. Sales-tax revenue is hitting a record high, allowing the city to get around to fixing busted roads. But the crazy-low 2.1 percent unemployment rate is a bear. As the proprietor of Mulberry Cafe and Gerardo’s Casita, Morales is working hard to retain cooks. As a Republican first elected in 2014, he oversees a government payroll 200 employees short of what it needs to fully function.   Continue reading “Shale Country Is Out of Workers and Dangling 100% Pay Hikes”

MassPrivateI

Welcome to the secret world of public transit spying 2018.

Soon, the public will have no way of knowing how many CCTV cameras a transit agency has and much more.

Two weeks ago the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering (NAS) asked Congress to make public transit safety records a secret.  Continue reading “Public transit agencies want to make safety records a state secret”

BBC News

Canadians have reacted with dismay to reports US President Donald Trump questioned whether Canada burned down the White House during a call with the country’s leader, Justin Trudeau.

British forces did set fire to the presidential residence during the War of 1812 with the US.

But Canada did not exist at the time – it was made up of British colonies.  Continue reading “Trump asks if Canada burnt down White House in call with PM”

BBC News

A Texan required 26 doses of anti-venom after he was bitten by the severed head of a rattlesnake he had killed.

Jennifer Sutcliffe told local station KIII-TV that her husband was working in the garden when he saw the four-foot (1.25m) rattlesnake and decapitated it.

When he picked up the snake’s remains to dispose of them, the head bit him.   Continue reading “Texas man nearly dies after being bitten by severed snake head”

Catholic News Agency – by Andrea Gagliarducci

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2018 / 04:26 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will take part in the Bilderberg Conference, an annual private gathering of global political, business and media leaders, set to take place this year in Turin, Italy, June 7 – 10.

Cardinal Parolin’s name is included in the list of 131 participants in this year’s Bilderberg meeting.   Continue reading “Cardinal Parolin at the elite Bilderberg meeting”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Several US citizens have been evacuated from the US consulate in Guangzhou, China, after falling ill with various neurological symptoms from mysterious “sonic attacks” similar to incidents reported in Havana Cuba which left 20 State Department employees with serious injuries.

On Wednesday night, consulate worker Mark Lenzi and his family were evacuated after hearing strange noises over the course of several months, which Lenzi described as “marbles bouncing and hitting a floor then rolling on an incline with a static sound,” according to the Washington Post.   Continue reading “Americans Evacuate From US Consulate In China After Debilitating Sonic Attacks”

CheatSheet – by Eric Schaal

If you thought 2017 was a bad year for corruption in America, you might want to ignore the news in 2018. Before even one month ticked off the calendar, we had seen police officers indicted, elected officials hauled off in handcuffs, and pay-to-play operations with politicians reaching new heights.

In other words, we hope federal prosecutors got plenty of rest over the holidays. The usual signs of budget shortfalls, blatant nepotism, and a corrupt police department may already be plaguing your city. If so, get ready for a stormy year and don’t get too attached to your town’s new mayor.   Continue reading “These Are the 15 Most Corrupt Cities in America”

Daily Mail

Aerial images of Hawaii captured the devastating lava flows from the Kilauea volcano which destroyed hundreds of homes in one night, including the Big Island county mayor’s second home.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim’s home was among the at least 159 houses in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland wiped out by lava flows on Monday night.   Continue reading “Aerial shows devastating lava flows from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano”