Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Over two decades, Robert Gilbeau rose through the ranks to Navy admiral and earned a chest-full of honors for his service, including a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. During that period he also partied across Southeast Asia with a gregarious Malaysian businessman who paid for lavish dinners, drinks at karaoke bars and prostitutes.

That businessman, known as “Fat Leonard,” is the centerpiece of a massive bribery scandal involving Navy officers, and Gilbeau last year pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about their relationship. He was the first active-duty admiral convicted of a federal crime and on Wednesday he learned his penalty: 18 months in jail.   Continue reading “Former admiral gets 18 months in jail for lying”

Mail.com

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas police officer used a stun gun seven times and an unapproved mixed martial arts chokehold to subdue an unarmed man who died after a foot chase through a casino, authorities said.

Officer Kenneth Lopera thought the man had tried to carjack a pickup truck with two people inside before the officer fired the stun gun in a series of staccato bursts and used the chokehold — a tactic that is not approved by the department — early Sunday at The Venetian resort, Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said.   Continue reading “Vegas police: Unapproved chokehold used in fatal foot chase”

Mail.com

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Several states have struggled for years to comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and to be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.

With a January deadline looming, lawmakers across the country have been scrambling for legislative fixes so residents can board flights and travel without confusion. Washington state was the latest to try to bring its system in line with those requirements, as Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure Tuesday creating a two-tiered licensing system.   Continue reading “States scramble to comply with federal ID law”

RT

A tourist ferry has completed its first cruise from the North Korean port of Rajin to the Russian city of Vladivostok. The route’s opening marks Pyongyang’s bid to develop trade and tourism ties with Russia amid growing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Representatives of Chinese and Russian tourism companies were on board the ferry that arrived in Vladivostok on Thursday, RIA Novosti reports, citing the route operator. The first tourists on the first-ever passenger connection between the two countries are expected next week, it added.   Continue reading “Ferry service opens between N. Korea & Russia’s Vladivostok”

CBC News

A jury on Wednesday acquitted of first-degree manslaughter a white Oklahoma police officer who says she fired out of fear last year when she killed an unarmed black man with his hands held above his head.

The family of Terence Crutcher burst into tears and reacted with outrage after jurors found Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty in the Sept. 16 shooting.   Continue reading “Jury acquits Tulsa cop in fatal shooting of unarmed man”

Press TV

David Friedman, a strong proponent of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian land, has arrived in Israel as the new US ambassador to the Tel Aviv regime.

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed the arrival of Friedman on Monday, days ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump.   Continue reading “Anti-Palestinian Jewish attorney arrives in Israel as new US envoy”

Press TV

A young Palestinian man has been shot dead after Israeli naval forces opened fire on several Palestinian fishing boats off the northern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Head of the Palestinian Fishermen’s Union Nizar Ayyash said on Monday that the assault occurred overnight, when Israeli forces detained four crewmen of a single boat, including a critically wounded fisherman who has been identified as 28-year-old Mohammed Majed Bakr.   Continue reading “Israeli forces shoot Palestinian fishermen off Gaza, fatally injure one”

Newsweek – by Max Kutner

The FBI is not investigating the unsolved murder of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, Newsweek has learned. The bureau’s lack of involvement refutes a Fox News report that an FBI analysis of Rich’s computer showed he had transferred more than 44,000 DNC emails to a person with ties to WikiLeaks. The report cited an unnamed “federal investigator.”

The circumstances around Rich’s July 2016 murder are mysterious and have led to conspiracy theories that claim he is responsible for passing DNC emails to WikiLeaks. The conspiracy theorists have suggested that the DNC or Hillary Clinton is responsible for Rich’s death. A Fox News report on Tuesday about an alleged connection between Rich and WikiLeaks exploded in conservative media.   Continue reading “FBI Not Probing DNC Staffer Seth Rich’s Murder, Despite WikiLeaks Claim”

Breitbart – by Joel B. Pollak

California Governor Jerry Brown referred to taxpayers as “freeloaders” last week for objecting to his new gas tax and car fee hikes.

“The freeloaders — I’ve had enough of them … They have a president that doesn’t tell the truth and they’re following suit,” he said. Brown was speaking in Orange County, defending State Assembly newcomer Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), who is facing a recall effort after voting for Brown’s new transportation taxes in April.   Continue reading “Jerry Brown: California Taxpayers are ‘Freeloaders’”

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump has decided not to immediately move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a senior White House official said, violating a campaign promise but avoiding a provocation that could drive Palestinians away from peace talks.

The official said the administration considers its discussions with both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to be promising, with the Palestinians in particular agreeing to talk without preconditions. The official asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.   Continue reading “Trump Rules Out Moving Israel Embassy to Jerusalem for Now, Official Says”

Reuters

Police arrested 21 members and associates of street gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, in Los Angeles on Wednesday in pre-dawn raids that were the culmination of a three-year probe, officials said.

Federal prosecutors indicted 44 people, including those taken into custody on Wednesday and others already in jail, on charges ranging from murder to extortion. The indictment also names 12 senior leaders of MS-13 in Los Angeles as defendants.   Continue reading “Dozens charged in largest-ever Los Angeles raid against MS-13 gang”

Freedom Outpost – by Tim Brown

The two defendants in the first round of the Bundy Ranch siege trials who were found guilty will not face a retrial on the counts where the jury did not reach a verdict.

According to documents from the prosecution against Todd Engel and Greg Burleson, neither man will face a retrial. The government has also decided to dismiss without prejudice counts 1 and 2 against Mr. Burelson and all hung counts against Mr. Engel.  Continue reading “Government Will Not Try 2 Bundy Ranch Defendants Again – Dismiss Counts Without Prejudice”

Yahoo News

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel sought Wednesday to contain the fallout from Donald Trump’s sharing of its intelligence with Russia after the move cast a further shadow over the US president’s visit to the country next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the premier’s office said, while stressing that they only discussed next week’s trip during the 20-minute conversation.  Continue reading “Israel seeks to contain fallout from Trump intel sharing”

Middle East Eye

Israel wants the White House to explain why a US diplomat preparing President Donald Trump’s visit to Jerusalem said Judaism’s Holy Western Wall in the east side of the city is part of the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official said on Monday.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, a claim that is not recognised internationally, and the Western Wall – the holiest prayer site for Jews – is part of territory it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.   Continue reading “Israel wants US to explain official’s Western Wall comment”