From the Trenches World Report

The Economic Collapse – by Michael Snyder

When you add maturing debt to the new debt that the federal government is accumulating, the total is quite eye catching.  You see, the truth is that the U.S. government must not only borrow enough money to fund government spending for this year, it must also “roll over” existing debt that has reached maturity.

Of course the government never actually pays any of that debt off.  Instead, it essentially takes out new debts to cover the old ones.  So the U.S. government is actually borrowing far more money each year than most Americans realize.    Continue reading “The U.S. Government Will Borrow Close To 4 Trillion Dollars This Year”

Russian Beyond the Headlines –  by Marina Maksimova

According to media reports of early July, the People’s Bank of China is mulling the possibility of phasing out the dollar as the reference currency for the yuan exchange rate, and to start using gold as the reference point.

The reports have not been confirmed officially, but analysts are warning that the step, if taken, will weaken the yuan and destabilise China’s already troubled economy, ultimately provoking a new bout of the economic crisis worldwide.   Continue reading “China reportedly planning to back the yuan with gold”

RT News

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that New York Times journalist James Risen must testify in the trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency officer accused of leaking classified national defense information to the media.

A lower court ruled previously that Risen could protect the source responsible for sharing intelligence about a CIA operation discussed in his writing, but the US Court of Appeals from the Fourth Circuit reversed that decision Friday morning with a 2-1 vote.   Continue reading “Court rules journalists can’t keep their sources secret”

RT News

Police officers in the state of New Jersey will now require a judge’s signature on a search warrant if they want to obtain the sensitive location details emitted from the cell phones of criminal suspects.

The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in a 7-0 vote that law enforcement agents in New Jersey need warrants in future cases when they want cell phone companies to hand over location data.   Continue reading “New Jersey toughens rules for phone data searches”

RT News

On the heels of a Colorado town’s announcement that it was floating the idea of legalized drone hunting, the Federal Aviation Administration has warned that the practice could result in prosecution and fines.

The small town of Deer Trail, Colorado is currently weighing an ordinance that would grant residents permits to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and even encourage the practice by awarding a $100 bounty to anyone presenting identifiable pieces of a drone that has been shot out of the sky.    Continue reading “FAA warns Colorado town that shooting down drones could lead to prosecution”

RT News

The Obama administration has renewed the authority for the National Security Agency to regularly collect the phone records of millions of Americas as allowed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The United States government has reportedly asked the FISA court every 90 days since 2006 to renew an order that compels the nation’s telecommunication providers to hand over telephony metadata pertaining to millions of US citizens. The program has been conducted in near total secrecy, however, until NSA leaker Edward Snowden released top-secret documentation to the Guardian newspaper which caused an international backlash upon being published last month.   Continue reading “FISA court renews NSA surveillance program”

Mail.com

BEIJING (AP) — A man in a wheelchair who was airing grievances set off a homemade bomb in a crowded terminal at Beijing’s main airport on Saturday evening, injuring himself but no one else, Chinese state media and witnesses said.

Order was quickly restored and no flights were affected by the explosion at the airport’s main international terminal, state-run China Central Television said on its microblog. The official Xinhua News Agency said a wheel-chaired Chinese man set off the device outside the arrivals exit of Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport at around 6:24 p.m. It said the man was being treated for injuries, but that no one else was hurt in the explosion.   Continue reading “Bomb detonated at Beijing airport; 1 injured”

Mail.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps released a sergeant Friday whose murder conviction was overturned in a major blow to the military’s prosecution of Iraq war crimes.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, of Plymouth, Mass., walked out of the brig at the Marine Corps Miramar Air Station in San Diego after having served more than half of his 11-year sentence. “The emotions I am feeling right now are hard to describe,” Hutchins said in a statement issued through his attorney. “I am overcome. This is all I ever wanted.”   Continue reading “Marine ordered freed in Iraq war crime case”

Canada Free Press – by Judi McLeod

You don’t have to be black to feel divided and disenfranchised in today’s America.

You only have to be a citizen whose individual rights and freedoms are being taken away on a daily basis by a second-term rogue government led by anti-citizen, anti-American President Barack Obama.   Continue reading “Getting out from under Obama’s bus before it’s too late”

WND – by Bob Unruh

A brief filed with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blasts the federal government for concealing evidence in its case against a New Mexico family charged with illegal gun sales.

The district judge in the case against Rick Reese, Terri Reese and Ryin Reese had ordered a new trial after a jury came back with mostly not guilty verdicts. Among the dozens of charges, guilty verdicts were returned on only a few paperwork charges.   Continue reading “Family fights back after ‘corrupt’ witness sent them to jail”

Big Story AP – by JUAN A. LOZANO and RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI

HOUSTON (AP) — Four men found living in “deplorable conditions” in a Houston garage on Friday told police that they were being held captive after being lured by promises of food and cigarettes so that their captor could cash their public-assistance checks, authorities said.

Three of the men were malnourished and taken to a hospital after being discovered by officers responding to a 911 call about the home, Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. Sgt. Steven Murdock described the living conditions as like a “dungeon.”   Continue reading “Cops: 4 Men Found Held in ‘Deplorable’ Texas Home”

Boston Globe – by Scott Shane

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday sharply and repeatedly challenged the Obama administration’s claim that courts had no power over targeted drone killings of U.S. citizens overseas.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court here was hearing the government’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by relatives of three Americans killed in two drone strikes in Yemen in 2011: Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical cleric who had joined al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula; Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman, who had no involvement in terrorism; and Samir Khan, a 30-year-old North Carolina man who had become a propagandist for the same al-Qaida branch.   Continue reading “Judge challenges White House claims over drone killings”

Rabble – by DAVID CHRISTOPHER

Big Media lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats are holding closed-door meetings in Malaysia this week, as they continue secret talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a highly secretive and extreme trade deal being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the United States, Singapore, and Vietnam.   Continue reading “Big Media’s push for extreme new Internet censorship rules stalls secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership talks”

The judge said ‘Lucky Larry’ couldn’t sue under New York State law, which means Silverstein is probably going to take his act on the road and sue in another state.

Bloomberg – by Eric Larson

Real estate developer Larry Silverstein can’t seek $3.5 billion from airlines whose planes were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center’s twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, a judge ruled.

Silverstein, who leased the skyscrapers about two months before they were destroyed, already collected $4.1 billion from insurers and can’t collect twice under New York law, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled yesterday in a courtroom less than a mile and a half from the World Trade Center site.   Continue reading “Silverstein Denied Right to Seek $3.5 Billion From Airlines”

Town Hall

DETROIT (AP) — The city of Detroit, which for years paid its bills with borrowed money, is the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy protection. Here’s a look at how the city spiraled into financial ruin and why it’s in so much trouble:   Continue reading “Detroit’s bankruptcy follows decades of decay”

The Captain’s Journal – by Herschel Smith

Via WRSA, Ray Kelly is being considered for the new top cop of the DHS, and there is this directly from Kelly himself.

“I don’t think it ever should have been made secret. I think the American public can accept the fact if you tell them that every time you pick up the phone it’s going to be recorded and goes to the government … ”   Continue reading “Ray Kelly – Totalitarian”

Tenth Amendment Center – by Michael Rappaport

The issues raised by National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, which provides the Supreme Court with its first opportunity to interpret the Recess Appointments Clause, are easy to misinterpret.  Many people view the case as political or partisan.  After all, the recess appointments involved NLRB officials who decide issues that generate much political controversy.  The D.C. Circuit decision was written from an originalist perspective by a conservative judge and joined by two Republican appointees.  A Third Circuit decision, which also found the NLRB recess appointments unconstitutional on originalist grounds, was again supported by Republican appointees, with a dissent by a Democratic appointee.   Continue reading “The Original Meaning of the Recess Appointments Clause”

Freedom Outpost – by Tim Brown

In the wake of the revelation that a Mexican police chief was found murdered with one of the weapons from the Obama administration’s Fast and Furious Operation, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter to Attorney General reminding him that he has an obligation to inform Congress when weapons from his Fast and Furious operation are found at crime scenes.   Continue reading “Issa & Grassley To Holder: Why Is DOJ Hiding New Fast & Furious Murders?”

Green Med Info – by Sayer Ji