From the Trenches World Report

LA Times – by David Montero

A federal judge Tuesday delayed opening statements in the trial of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy amid defense allegations that there may be recorded video related to the 2014 standoff at his Bunkerville ranch that the government failed to turn.

U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro pushed opening statements back to Nov. 14 to give prosecutors time to track down the surveillance footage — though she agreed it was unclear whether the equipment had, in fact, recorded anything at all.   Continue reading “Nevada standoff trial postponed as judge orders search for surveillance video”

Baltimore Sun – by Kevin Rector

Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was found not guilty Tuesday of all 21 administrative charges against him in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

The verdict absolves Goodson once and for all in the case, and allows him to continue his career on the city police force.

Goodson, 48, the driver of the police van in which Gray was found with severe spinal cord injuries in April 2015, was charged with neglecting his duty by failing to ensure Gray’s safety by securing him in a seat belt or calling a medic when he requested one. He was also charged with making false statements to investigators.   Continue reading “Baltimore police van driver Caesar Goodson not guilty on all 21 administrative charges in Freddie Gray case”

RT

NATO needs civilian infrastructure in Europe to meet its growing military requirements, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting in Brussels. This will mean coordination with national governments and the private sector, he added.

Defense ministers from the 29 NATO states arrived in Brussels to begin discussions on a “revision” of the NATO Command Structure. What is envisioned is a new command to protect sea lines between North America and Europe, and another to “improve the movement of troops and equipment within Europe.”   Continue reading “NATO wants Europe’s civilian infrastructure ready for war”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Tuesday blocked Democratic efforts to secure bigger tax benefits for parents’ costs of raising or adopting children, as they drove toward wrapping up their tax overhaul by week’s end.

The daylong debate by the Ways and Means Committee came as the Senate’s tax bill started to take shape. That version is expected to completely repeal the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a flashpoint of contention for Republican lawmakers from high-tax states like New York and New Jersey, as well as Democrats. Concessions were made in the House bill with a partial repeal.   Continue reading “GOP blocks Dem efforts to boost tax benefits for parents”

Mail.com

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Residents in this rural state grappling with a heroin epidemic and an aging population voted Tuesday to deliver a rebuke to Republican Gov. Paul LePage and join 31 other states that have expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The referendum represents the first time since the law took effect that the question of expansion had been put in front of U.S. voters. Some 11 million people in the country have gotten coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, a health insurance program for low income people.   Continue reading “Maine OKs Medicaid expansion in first-of-its-kind referendum”

Mail.com

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A transgender candidate defeated an incumbent Virginia lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would have restricted which bathrooms she could use. Democrat Danica Roem, a former journalist, is set to make history as the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature in the United States. She unseated Republican Del. Bob Marshall, one of the state’s longest serving and most socially conservative lawmakers. The race was one of the year’s most high profile, drawing international attention and big money to the northern Virginia House of Delegates district outside the nation’s capital.   Continue reading “Transgender woman makes history in Virginia House seat win”

Times of Israel – by Marissa Newman

Ministers on Sunday lent their support to a bill that would allow Israeli companies to sue boycott activists for up to NIS 100,000 ($28,500) without proof of damage.

The proposal, brought by Likud MK Yoav Kisch and backed by Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, seeks to bypass a High Court of Justice ruling that disqualified portions of Israel’s anti-boycott law.   Continue reading “Ministers back bill for companies to sue Israel boycotters”

Rolling Stone – by Jon Blistein

Bono expressed concern that a Lithuanian shopping center he invested in may have avoided paying profit taxes, The Guardian reports. The U2 singer’s ties to the shopping center were revealed in the Paradise Papers, a global investigation into tax havens and the offshore financial dealings of multinational corporations and wealthy individuals.

In a statement, Bono said he would be “extremely distressed if even as a passive minority investor … anything less than exemplary was done with my name anywhere near it.” He added: “I take this stuff very seriously. I have campaigned for the beneficial ownership of offshore companies to be made transparent. Indeed this is why my name is on documents rather than in a trust.”   Continue reading “Bono ‘Distressed’ by Paradise Papers Allegations”

Anti-Media – by Darius Shahtahmasebi

According to Defense News, China has been practicing bombing runs targeting the U.S. territory of Guam, the same U.S. military base North Korea threatened earlier this year. According to U.S. officials, the bombers are nuclear-capable.

One cannot help but notice that the level of publicity this development has gotten in the mainstream media is somewhat lacking compared to every single movement the North Korean regime has made.   Continue reading “China Practices Bombing Guam — Media Silent”

Reuters

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – Federal agents have seized records from a national company that solicits thousands of Americans to donate their bodies to science each year, then profits by dissecting the parts and distributing them for use by researchers and educators.

The search warrant executed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at MedCure Inc headquarters here on November 1 is sealed, and the bureau and the company declined to comment on the nature of the FBI investigation. But people familiar with the matter said the inquiry concerns the manner in which MedCure distributes body parts acquired from its donors.   Continue reading “FBI agents raid headquarters of major U.S. body broker”

Daily Mail

Skyrocketing rents in California’s Silicon Valley have led to thousands of so-called ‘working homeless’ taking to the streets, casualties of a tech boom that has left many behind.

In the same affluent, suburban city of Mountain View, California – where Google built its headquarters – Tes Saldana lives in a crowded but tidy camper she parks on the street.

She concedes it’s ‘not a very nice living situation,’ but it also is not unusual.    Continue reading “Homelessness surges in Silicon Valley”

Daily Mail

In recent years, scientists have made great strides toward harnessing nuclear fusion, in hopes to one day create reactors that produce near-limitless clean energy.

But now, a pair of researchers has discovered a new subatomic event that releases energy in amounts beyond all expectations.

Scientists found that certain types of elementary particles known as quarks can achieve fusion in a powerful ‘quarksplosion,’ resulting in eight times more energy than that released in the individual processes at the heart of hydrogen bombs.   Continue reading “Groundbreaking ‘quarksplosion’ discovery can make ten times as much energy as nuclear fusion”