From the Trenches World Report

Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

Laredo, TX — A decorated 9-year veteran of the US border Patrol—who’d recently been promoted—was arrested on two counts of capital murder this week after a woman and her one-year-old son were found dead.

On Monday, Officer Ronald Anthony Burgos Aviles, who is now in custody, called 911 claiming to have found the bodies of 27-year-old Grizelda Hernandez and Dominick Alexander Hernandez near a park along the border with Mexico.  Continue reading “Border Patrol Supervisor Arrested for Allegedly Beating a Mom and Her Infant Son to Death”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Echoing findings by UK government scientist Gary Aitkenhead, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Thursday that its investigators had “confirmed the findings of the UK relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury”

Effectively the lab confirmed that the military grade nerve agent used to poison Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal during an attack which reportedly took place at a public shopping center was, in fact, Novichok – a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union, even if the OPCW did not explicitly name it. But crucially, like the scientists at Porton Down, the OPCW was unable to identify the origins of the nerve agent, per the Associated Press.   Continue reading “Chemical Weapons Watchdog Can’t Identify Source Of Nerve Agent Used In Skripal Attack”

Washington Examiner – by Gabby Morrongiello

President Trump has directed his top economic and trade advisers to look into the potential benefits of re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement that he withdrew the U.S. from in one of his first acts as president

Trump told a group of Republican senators during a meeting Thursday that he had assigned National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer “the task of taking another look at TPP,” Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, told reporters following the meeting.   Continue reading “Trump directs top economic advisers to look at re-entering TPP”

RT

Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has gathered enough votes to trigger a referendum on splitting California into three separate states.

Draper’s CAL 3 campaign has gathered 600,000 signatures supporting the split since he proposed the initiative last August. He told the Telegraph that 600,000 signatures was a  “milestone” and sent a message that people across California would “create a brighter future for everyone.”   Continue reading “Three Californias? Billionaire gathers enough signatures to trigger referendum”

Mail.com

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens calls it an “entirely consensual relationship.” But the woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair says Greitens spanked, slapped, grabbed and shoved her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.

The woman’s graphic testimony was revealed in a report released Wednesday by a special Missouri legislative committee that now is expanding its mission to recommend whether lawmakers should begin impeachment proceedings to try to remove the Republican governor from office.  Continue reading “Report: Missouri Gov. Greitens slapped, grabbed woman”

Mail.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban stormed a government compound in central Afghanistan early Thursday, triggering an hours-long gunbattle that killed 15, including three top local officials, police and government officials said.

The blistering attack in the Khuja Omari district was the latest insurgent assault in Ghazni province, which is now largely under Taliban control. The Taliban planted mines to prevent government reinforcements from coming to help and quickly took responsibility for the attack, said Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker in the Afghan Parliament.  Continue reading “Taliban attack on Afghan government compound kills 15”

Mail.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Voters in Alaska’s largest city are on track to becoming the first in the U.S. to defeat a so-called bathroom bill in a referendum that asked them to require people using public bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender at birth.

The initiative asked Anchorage’s voters to repeal an ordinance passed in 2015 that prevented discrimination based on sexual orientation and added a clause that would have prevented transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities.  Continue reading “Anchorage voters first in the nation to reject bathroom bill”

The Verge – by Sarah Jeong and Shannon Liao

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce today, fresh off the heels of a grueling five-hour joint session before the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees yesterday. In total, Zuckerberg will face questions from nearly 100 legislators, and many of those legislators have received thousands of dollars from the company Zuckerberg runs.  Continue reading “Here’s how much Facebook donated to every lawmaker questioning Mark Zuckerberg this week”

NBC New York

Federal prosecutors say two New Jersey police officers stopped vehicles, detained the occupants and searched the autos without justification, sometimes also taking cash and other items.

The Paterson officers – Jonathan Bustios, 28, and Eudy Ramos, 31 – are charged with conspiring to deprive people of their civil rights under color of law.   Continue reading “2 Paterson Cops Stopped Cars, Took Cash and Other Items: Prosecutors”

Fox News

Eight police officers in Argentina, including a former town police commissioner, have been dismissed from their posts after four of them claimed that more than half a ton of missing marijuana was carried off by mice, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

The paper reported that police in the town of Pilar, about 35 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, impounded 6,000 kilograms (13,228 pounds) of marijuana. But when police inspected the evidence warehouse sometime later, they found that 540 kilograms (1,190 pounds) were missing.   Continue reading “Argentina cops who claimed mice ate missing marijuana are fired, report says”

Free Thought Project – by Jay Syrmopoulos

Washington, D.C. – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looked uneasy as he gave testimony for five hours on Tuesday before 44 U.S. Senators. Wednesday, he appeared before before 55 members of the House of Representative regarding the role of Facebook and to how the company can address consumer data-privacy concerns in the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal.  Continue reading “9 Questions Mark Zuckerberg Strangely Couldn’t Answer During His Senate Hearing”