From the Trenches World Report

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”

The Homestead Guru – by Hailey

If you thought sleeping with your router on or your phone next to your head was harmless, you may want to think again as more information is coming out about WiFi radiation.

An experiment, for a biology test, was done by 5 girls from northern Jutland in 9th grade. The girls came up with the idea because they found it difficult to concentrate during the school day:   Continue reading “WiFi Radiation? Experiment Is Turning The Heads Of Radiation Experts”

Washington Post

NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. — The gunman who opened fire in a church outside San Antonio, killing at least 26 people, escaped from a mental health facility in 2012 after he was caught sneaking guns onto an Air Force base and “attempting to carry out death threats” made against military superiors, according to a police report.

The report said officers with the El Paso, Tex., police were dispatched to a bus terminal after Devin P. Kelley‘s escape from a behavioral facility about seven miles away in New Mexico. Officers wrote they were told Kelley, who intended to take a bus out of the state, “was a danger to himself and others” at the time and noted that he “was also facing military criminal charges.”   Continue reading “Texas church gunman escaped from mental health facility in 2012 after threatening military superiors”

RT

A power-play by the most powerful man in Saudi Arabia took place over the weekend, with big repercussions for the future of the country that is OPEC’s de factor leader and the world’s second-largest oil producer.

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and heir to King Salman, was granted control over a wide-ranging anti-corruption committee last week, and immediately used his new power to consolidate his position. Eleven former ministers and dozens of Saudi princes were arrested or detained on charges of corruption, graft or financial malfeasance.   Continue reading “Why Saudi Arabia’s crackdown sent oil prices soaring”

Mail.com

Time has not healed the Democratic party’s wounds. On Election Day 2016, Democrats suffered a devastating and shocking loss. A year later, they’re still sorting through the wreckage. The infighting, the divisive personalities and the questions about how it happened are still front and center, threatening to hold the party back in elections on Tuesday and into next year’s midterms.

Hillary Clinton is on a tour promoting her book on last year’s campaign, entitled “What Happened.” The man she defeated in the party’s presidential primaries, Bernie Sanders, and former Vice President Joe Biden are the two top possible presidential contenders in 2020. And just in time for a crucial race for Virginia governor, the Democratic National Committee’s former chairwoman, Donna Brazile, last week reopened the wounds over whether the party tilted the primary in Clinton’s favor.   Continue reading “Democrats try to look forward but are still haunted by 2016”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California should use armored cars to transport hundreds of millions of dollars in cash tax payments expected next year with the state’s legal marijuana market, the state treasurer said Tuesday.

The state on Jan. 1 will enter a new era with cannabis when recreational sales become legal and join the long-standing medical industry in what will become the largest U.S. legal pot economy. But the new market estimated to grow to $7 billion annually has a troubling flaw: Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, so most banks won’t do business with pot growers, manufacturers or retailers. That means marijuana companies typically operate only in cash.   Continue reading “California proposes armored cars to transport pot tax money”

Mail.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump says tougher gun laws would not have prevented a mass shooting at a south Texas church, arguing that more restrictions might have led to more casualties.

Trump spoke at a news conference in South Korea on Tuesday where he was asked about “extreme vetting” for gun purchases. Trump said: “If you did what you’re suggesting, there would have been no difference three days ago and you might not have had that very brave person who happens to have a gun or a rifle in his trunk.”   Continue reading “Trump says tougher gun laws not answer after Texas shooting”