From the Trenches World Report

Mail.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — For the first time, farmworkers in California will soon be entitled to the same pay as other hourly workers after California’s governor signed an expansion of a labor policy.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s announcement came decades after labor leader Cesar Chavez and the thousands of farmworkers he organized pushed officials to recognize the union of agricultural laborers. The legislation will require that farm employers pay workers one and one-half times regular wages pay after eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, rather than the rate enacted in 1975 of 10 hours in one day or 60 hours in a week.   Continue reading “California expands already historic farm overtime policy”

Mail.com

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian cease-fire appeared to be holding on Tuesday despite sporadic and minor violations of the U.S. and Russian brokered truce, which is aimed at paving the way for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the revival of peace talks.

The deal, hammered out by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov last week, officially came into effect at sunset on Monday. The Syrian army said it would abide by the cease-fire until midnight Sunday, while maintaining its right to defend itself against any violations.   Continue reading “Syria cease-fire holding, with only minor violations”

Haaretz – by Barak Ravid

Jacob Nagel, acting head of the National Security Council, landed in Washington D.C. on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice at which he is expected to sign an agreement on a new military aid package.

Nagel will hold at the White House that will deal mainly with last-minute coordination and the wording of a joint statement that will be published by the two parties. The signing ceremony is expected to take place on Wednesday.
Continue reading “Senior Israeli Official Arrives in D.C. to Sign U.S. Military Aid Deal”

ArsTechnica – by Cyrus Farivar

The Chicago man who served as a go-between for a local transportation official and a major red light camera company, Redflex, was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison.

In 2014, Martin O’Malley was the first to plead guilty in the trio of criminal cases involving Redflex. (This Martin O’Malley should not be confused with the former governor of Maryland and Democratic presidential candidate.)
Continue reading “Chicago bagman who helped DOJ in red light camera case gets 6 months”

Yahoo News

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The armed protesters who occupied a remote bird sanctuary in Oregon’s high desert earlier this year did so to protest federal land policy, which has been a point of contention in Western states for decades.

On Tuesday opening statements are set to begin in the federal trial of seven protesters, including brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, part of a Nevada ranching family embroiled in a long-running dispute over land use.   Continue reading “Oregon trial latest in long-running Western land dispute”

Fox News

Iran threatened to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, the latest in a series of recent provocations between Iran and the US military in the region, three US defense officials with knowledge of the incident told Fox News.

On Sept. 10, a Navy P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with a crew of roughly 24, were flying a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, according to officials.   Continue reading “Iran threatened to shoot down US Navy spy planes in the Persian Gulf”

Wall Street Journal – by Rory Jones

Israel’s military said Syrian regime forces attempted to down Israeli aircraft as they flew over the war-torn country on Tuesday, after Israel had responded to errant fire across its border by attacking Syrian army positions.

The Syrian army said it had downed an Israeli warplane and a drone after the aircraft had targeted a regime military position in the Quneitra province on the border of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, according to a statement on state news agency SAN’A.   Continue reading “Israel Targets Syrian Army Position After Cross-Border Fire”

The Hill – by Vicki Needham

Business leaders said Monday they are digging in their heels to push an Asia-Pacific deal through Congress this year.

Doug Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar and chairman of Business Roundtable, defended the business community’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) lobbying campaign, saying they will not give up the fight and are locked into non-stop full-court press mode.   Continue reading “Business leaders fighting for TPP vote this year”

Pro Publica – by Lauren Kirchner

The five teenage boys were sitting in a parked car in a gated community in Melbourne, Florida, when a police officer pulled up behind them.

Officer Justin Valutsky closed one of the rear doors, which had been ajar, and told them to stay in the car. He peered into the drivers’ side window of the white Hyundai SUV and asked what the teens were doing there. It was a Saturday night in March 2015 and they told Valutsky they were visiting a friend for a sleepover.   Continue reading “DNA Dragnet: In Some Cities, Police Go From Stop-and-Frisk to Stop-and-Spit”

Yahoo News – by Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces troops from a group of islands in the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners.

Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over a televised tirade against the United States and President Barack Obama, said the Americans still in Mindanao were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants as counter-insurgency operations intensify.   Continue reading “Duterte says he wants U.S. special forces out of southern Philippines”