From the Trenches World Report

Reuters

A jury is due to begin deliberations after closing arguments conclude on Thursday in the trial of six men accused of acting as gunmen for cattle rancher Cliven Bundy in a tense 2014 standoff with federal law enforcement officers.

The six defendants are the first of 17 people to go on trial on charges related to the standoff at Bundy’s property near Bunkerville, 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Las Vegas, in a case that has come to symbolize tensions in the U.S. West over the federal ownership of land that ranchers use to graze cattle.   Continue reading “Jurors due to deliberate Nevada case of Bundy ranch standoff”

Seattle Times – by Mike Carter

As many as 400 immigrant detainees at the Northwest Detention Center have refused meals for a second day, according to activists, while federal immigration officials prepare to invoke a hunger-strike protocol that could result in forced treatment of inmates who continue to refuse nourishment.   Continue reading “Hundreds of immigrant detainees at Tacoma ICE facility on hunger strike, activists say”

Global News – The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – Some of the highlights from the suite of bills introduced Thursday by the federal Liberal government to legalize recreational marijuana:

– Sales to be restricted to people age 18 and older, although provinces would have the jurisdiction to increase their own minimum age.

– Adults 18 and older would be allowed to publicly possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, or its equivalent in non-dried form.   Continue reading “Pot legalization in Canada: Here’s what you need to know about proposed law”

RT

The US military has used its GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed “the mother of all bombs,” for the first time in combat. The US Air Force used it in Afghanistan to target Islamic State tunnels and personnel.

The 21,000-pound (9,525 kg) bomb was dropped in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.   Continue reading “US drops largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan, first time used in combat”

NBC News – by Katherine Creag

The bodies of four males, all described as having suffered “significant trauma,” were discovered in a park in a Long Island neighborhood that has for years contended with a growing problem of gang violence.

The victims, whose ages and identities were not immediately released, were found in the Central Islip Recreation Village Park near Lowell Avenue and Clayton Street in Central Islip, authorities said.   Continue reading “4 Males Found Dead in Park on Long Island”

Washington Post – by Thomas Gibbons-Neff

U.S.-led aircraft accidentally bombed friendly Syrian forces fighting the Islamic State in northern Syria on Tuesday, killing 18, the Pentagon said Thursday. The April 11 bombing marks the worst confirmed friendly-fire incident in the nearly three-year-old war against the terrorist group.

The U.S.-led coalition said in a statement that the airstrike was requested by “partnered forces” near the town of Tabqa who accidentally targeted a group of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The partnered forces believed that the SDF’s position belonged to the Islamic State, the statement said.   Continue reading “U.S.-led coalition accidentally bombs Syrian allies, killing 18”

The Newspaper

New Miami, Ohio will do anything to keep from paying back the $3 million in speed camera tickets illegally issued by Optotraffic, the town’s vendor. Butler County Judge Michael A. Oster Jr will speak to the parties in the case next Wednesday after having put a temporary halt to enforcement of his February judgment (view ruling).   Continue reading “Ohio Town Fights To Avoid $3.4 Million Speed Camera Refund”

MassPrivateI

The American police state, is classifying alleged domestic violence offenders using a school grading system from A-D. ‘A’ being the most likely to re-offend and ‘D’ being the least likely to re-offend.

According to the Hollywood Police Department (HPD) their ‘Offender Focused Domestic Violence Initiative’ (OFDVI) program is the first of its kind in Florida.   Continue reading “Police create new ‘domestic violence’ watch list which exempts officers”

Charlotte Observer – by Greg Hadley

An Oklahoman congressman is under fire after he seemingly dismissed the notion that his constituents pay for him to go to Congress, calling the idea “bullcrap” in a viral video making the rounds on social media.

Markwayne Mullin, speaking at a town hall Tuesday in Jay, Oklahoma, was responding to a question from the audience when he responded to a claim that constituents pay for him to work in Congress.   Continue reading “Congressman tells angry constituents the idea that they pay his salary is ‘bullcrap’”

Yahoo News – by Ian Simpson

(Reuters) – A groundbreaking black jurist who became the first Muslim woman to serve as a U.S. judge was found dead in New York’s Hudson River on Wednesday, police said.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a 65-year-old associate judge of New York’s highest court, was found floating off Manhattan’s west side at about 1:45 p.m. EDT (1545 GMT), a police spokesman said.   Continue reading “United States’ first female Muslim judge found dead in Hudson River”

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

It appears the DOJ will no longer be in the business of policing the police. A memo issued by every cop’s new best friend, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, states the DOJ will be doing more to empower police and will conduct fewer civil rights investigations of law enforcement agencies. On one hand, it makes sense to have the locals handle their own problems. On the other hand, the locals have repeatedly shown a willingness to ignore abusive policing until the feds are forced to step in.   Continue reading “City Officials Step Up After DOJ Told To Stop Worrying About Civil Rights Violations By Law Enforcement Agencies”