From the Trenches World Report

Policy Mic – by Eileen Shim

The news: With a doctor’s backing, a weight-loss program that’s clearly a scam can feel surprisingly legitimate, especially when that doctor is a celebrity with his own syndicated daytime show.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is such a doctor, which is why he received a harsh scolding on Tuesday by the Senate subcommittee on consumer corruption. The hearing focused on fake diet products and how celebrity doctors such as Oz help to drive this industry.   Continue reading “America’s Favorite Weight-Loss Doctor Is in Some Serious Congressional Trouble”

Counterpunch- by Thomas S. Harrington

During the last week we have seen Sunni militias take control of ever-greater swathes of eastern Syria and western Iraq. In the mainstream media, the analysis of this emerging reality has been predictably idiotic, basically centering on whether:

a) Obama is to blame for this for having removed US troops in compliance with the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated and signed by Bush.

b) Obama is “man enough” to putatively resolve the problem by going back into the country and killing more people and destroying whatever remains of the country’s infrastructure.

Continue reading “Is Open-Ended Chaos the Desired US-Israeli Aim in the Middle East?”

Breitbart – by Kristin Tate

Thousands of immigrants, most of whom are children from Central America, entering the U.S. illegally are overwhelming federal resources. Reacting to what has been labeled a “humanitarian crisis,” U.S. taxpayers are providing the illegal immigrants with housing, food, education, health care, recreation, vocational training, family unification, and even legal counsel. In the face of providing such amenities to the migrants, there are hundreds of thousands of  U.S. citizens–including families and children–who remain without a home or food.   Continue reading “Illegal Immigrants Treated Better than Homeless in US”

Thanks to cav medic.

CNN – by Ralph Ellis

Honduras will ask the United States not to send any more children stopped at the border back to Honduras, the Honduran Foreign Ministry said.

Honduran Chancellor Mireya Agüero Corrales instructed the Honduran Embassy in Washington to work on the proposal, the ministry said.   Continue reading “Honduras to ask U.S. not to deport Honduran kids”

KATC 3 News

WASHINGTON (AP) – Two senators unveiled a bipartisan plan Wednesday to raise federal gasoline and diesel taxes for the first time in more than two decades, pitching the proposal as a solution to Congress’ struggle to pay for highway and transit programs.

The plan offered by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., would raise the 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gas tax and 24.4-cents-a- gallon diesel tax by 12 cents each over the next two years, and then index the taxes to keep pace with inflation. Continue reading “Senators propose 12-cent gas tax increase”

RT News

Following the capture of the suspected ringleader behind the 2012 attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, the Libyan government has criticized the United States for the raid and demanded the return of the suspect.

In what marked the country’s first official comments on the American operation, Libya’s government said that any trial regarding the alleged crimes of Ahmed Abu Khattala, whose apprehension was announced on Tuesday, should take place in Libya and within its court system.   Continue reading “Libya demands return of Benghazi suspect, slams US raid as attack on sovereignty”

RT News

Entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk has some travel suggestions that are out of this world. The SpaceX CEO known as the brains behind the Tesla electric car says he wants to take humans to Mars during the next decade.

Speaking to CNBC this week, the South African-born billionaire said that his main goal at this moment is to perfect technology that would make space travel possible in the not-so-distant future.   Continue reading “Elon Musk plans to take people to Mars within 10 years”

RT News

In what could be a tragic case of child abuse, police have officially charged a New York state mother with deliberately and fatally poisoning her young child in order to garner sympathy and attention online.

For various reasons, ranging from ear infections and high fevers to mysterious spikes in sodium levels, five-year-old Garnett Spears was in and out of hospitals ever since he was born. Although doctors were generally at a loss as to why – the boy also had trouble gaining weight and, as a result, had a feeding tube put in place – police now believe they know what was behind at least some of the problems: his mother.   Continue reading “Mommy blogger accused of poisoning son to boost web traffic”

Mail.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The F-bomb that Mayor Eric Garcetti dropped on Los Angeles this week has quickly mushroomed into a conundrum over just what a politician can get away with saying in public these days.

Presiding over a rally honoring the Los Angeles Kings for winning hockey’s Stanley Cup, Garcetti reminded everyone there are two things an elected official should never do in public: Appear with a drink in hand or let loose with a four-letter word.   Continue reading “LA mayor’s F-bomb blows up worries about bad words”

Mail.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Your money or your life?

Sovaldi, a new pill for hepatitis C, cures the liver-wasting disease in 9 of 10 patients, but treatment can cost more than $90,000. Leading medical societies recommend the drug as a first-line treatment, and patients are clamoring for it. But insurance companies and state Medicaid programs are gagging on the price. In Oregon, officials propose to limit how many low-income patients can get Sovaldi.   Continue reading “$1,000-a-pill Sovaldi jolts US health care system”

Mail.com

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado prosecutor said he’s frustrated that the state’s “Make My Day” law prevents him from charging a man who killed an acquaintance during a drunken brawl that spilled into his home, becoming the latest test to self-defense gun laws nationwide.

The New Year’s Day shooting involving “foolish, drunken children” likely was not what lawmakers had in mind when they adopted Colorado’s law, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said. It protects homeowners from prosecution for using deadly force when someone illegally enters their home and there’s reason to believe that person will commit a crime.   Continue reading “Deadly brawl is latest test of self-defense laws”

ARS Technica – by Cyrus Farivar 

The American Civil Liberties Union has lost in its attempt to get the city of Sarasota, Florida, to hand over city records pertaining to the use of stingrays, or fake cell tower surveillance devices.

As we reported earlier this month, the ACLU asked a Florida court for an emergency motion (PDF) that would require the city to make its stingray records available via a public records request. These devices, which are also known as international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers, can be used to track phones or, in some cases, intercept calls and text messages.   Continue reading “Judge allows US Marshals’ seizure of stingray records, dimisses lawsuitCyrus Farivar”

Natural Society – by Christina Sarich

It’s sad when one of the biggest ‘super powers’ can’t even export a quintessentially American food to another country because it is too toxic to eat. But apples treated with diphenylamine (DPA), a substance which keeps them from turning brown for months at a time when they are kept in storage, is now a sore spot for importers of American apples.   Continue reading “The Reason Europe Bans American Apples”

Fox News

More than 500 armed Mexican military and law enforcement personnel have crossed the U.S. border without permission over the past decade, raising questions over why a U.S. Marine remains jailed in Mexico for a similar offense.

The startling figures were provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a letter to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske reported that roughly 525 armed Mexican soldiers and police jumped the border since 2004, in 152 separate incidents.    Continue reading “Double Standard? Hundreds of armed Mexican officers crossing US border, despite Marine stuck in jail”