The Trump administration is rolling back a landmark conservation rule from the Clinton era that prevents roadbuilding and logging on roughly 58 million acres of federal forest and wildlands. Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule comes as the USFS is under orders by Trump to increase logging and thinning in forests to address the wildfire threat. Environmentalists have already indicated they'll sue to prevent its reversal, however. The 2001 Roadless Rule effectively created de facto wilderness protections for scores of forests in the West and Alaska. Republican states and industry groups say Clinton usurped power reserved for Congress in the Wilderness Act. They have tried to overturn it for decades, filing more than a dozen unsuccessful lawsuits against it. Environmentalists counter that wildfires are more likely to occur in forests that have been developed with roads and other infrastructure. Trump is trying to turn over America's precious natural resources to voracious capitalists. read more
French police arrested 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival. Millions of people took to the streets across France on the evening of 21 Jun for the Fete de la Musique, with the authorities reporting "unprecedented crowds" in Paris. Before the event, social media posts had called for women to be targeted during the festivities. 145 victims across the country had reported being stabbed with needles, 13 in Paris. Some victims felt unwell after the stabbings. Officials did not say if these were cases of so-called needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, used by attackers to render victims confused or unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault. Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests. read more
The federal government has signed a deal with the private prison firm CoreCivic Corp. to reopen a 1,033-bed prison in Leavenworth as part of a surge of contracts ICE has issued without seeking competitive bids. ICE has cited a "compelling urgency" for thousands more detention beds, and its efforts have sent profit estimates soaring for politically connected private companies. To get more detention beds, the Trump administration has modified dozens of existing agreements with contractors and used no-bid contracts. One pays $73 million to a company led by former federal immigration officials for "immigration enforcement support teams" to handle administrative tasks, such as helping coordinate removals, triaging complaints, or advising ICE if someone is a risk to community safety. Geo Group announced that ICE modified a contract in Georgia so that the company could reopen an idle prison on adjacent land to hold 1,868 migrants " and earn $66 million in annual revenue. read more
US Marshals in Florida led a missing child operation that resulted in the recovery or safe location of 60 critically missing children from across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. Operation DRAGON EYE included federal, state, and local government agencies, social service entities, the medical community, and NGOs. This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities. Recovered children were provided with medical resources, nourishment, social services, and child advocates. This was deemed the most successful missing child operation in USMS history. read more
Mexico has reported a surge in measles cases in the border state of Chihuahua following an outbreak of the highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease in unvaccinated communities in Texas. Dr. Paul Offit, a Philadelphia pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, says RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine misinformation is to blame. The measles outbreak, Mexico's largest in decades, has spread beyond the Mennonite settlements, impacting neighboring Indigenous populations and raising concerns about international transmission, particularly given Chihuahua's location on the US border. While Mexico health officials acknowledge the progress made through collaboration with Mennonite leaders and report tens of thousands of new vaccinations, the infection rate continues to rise. There may be as many as 2,000 cases of measles in northern Mexico. read more
Another horrible situation caused by the hobgoblin in the White House.
The US military gave Sae Joon Park PTSD, then the US government forced him out: i5.walmartimages.com
#6: I'm floating regime change for the USA
Music by Quincy Jones. The volunteer should aim just a bit higher: youtu.be
#11: "There, there Donnie, don't poop your pants. You'll get your Nobel Peace Prize one day like that schwarzer." media.snopes.com
#102: President Volodomir Zelensky is a mensch. He recognizes the onslaught the Palestinians are going through while the Kremlin inflicts an onslaught on his own people. Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com
#1: Good. This is a symbolic victory for the poor widow Smith and this schmuck will feel the bite of this $500K penalty. There is also a second miscreant named in the lawsuit, Taylor Taranto. MPD Officer Jeffrey Smith looked like an alright fellow, not one of the run-of-the-mill ACAB neanderthals running amok in the US. The Patriot Freedom Project will probably pay this off for the dirtbags, if the group has any pelf left. Link: drudge.com
#64: I was out by Temecula the past couple days and all the lemons are on the ground.
If he were alive today, what would this man be saying or writing about what's happening in California (and the rest of the US)? www.telegraph.co.uk
Last century the Sex Pistols sang a song with the lyrics "...'cause tourists are money...."
This century the Republicans sing "...'cause migrants are money."
Link: drudge.com
#2: Hi Catdog: Thanks for doing the numbers. One example: To make a grilled cheese sandwich costs five to ten cents each when the bread, cheese, and oil are bought wholesale. These ICE detainees will be like Oliver Twist being fed gruel while the fatcats line their pockets.