Court Quashes Sept. 11 Plea Bargains That
Military Judge Had Approved
Posted By: sunset, 7/11/2025 8:47:55 PM
A federal appeals court on Friday quashed plea bargains that would spare three alleged Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators from the death penalty in exchange for confessing guilt, extending the troubled prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Guantanamo detainees accused of engineering the deadliest terrorist attack in American history. “The families of the victims and the American public have a strong interest in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in the 2-1 opinion. “In particular, the judgment about whether respondents should face the death penalty is a grave one that requires political accountability.”
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There is only one active rare earth mine in the whole of the United States. As of Friday, the Department of Defense has become the largest shareholder in the company that owns and operates it. The Pentagon signed a long-term deal with MP Materials on Thursday to give the company hundreds of millions in investments and loans, as well as $1 billion from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs to fund the construction of a "10X Facility" for rare earth magnet manufacturing. The DoD has also agreed to find a home for 100 percent of the magnets produced at the 10X Facility. MP Materials operates in southeastern California,
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright touted the importance of coal and Wyoming on Friday at the ribbon cutting for Brook Mine, the first U.S. rare earth mine in 70 years and the state’s first new coal mine in decades. He said developments like the Brook Mine are critical for breaking U.S. dependence on China for supplying the critical minerals used in everything from fighter jets to wind turbines. Wright said it’s time for America to dominate rare earth development. “Anything in your life that has a button, you start your car with the button or your dishwasher or your refrigerator, your F-35 fighter jet —... have rare earth elements...”
NATO countries have devised a novel way to provide critical American weaponry to Ukraine for its fight against Russia, and President Trump suggested for the first time that he’s likely to go along with it.
Rather than the United States continuing to give its weapons to Ukraine, officials in NATO countries conceived a plan where the Trump administration could sell them to allies, which would then give them to Ukraine. Not only could that be a financial windfall for the United States, it would also shield Mr. Trump — who has expressed skepticism of devoting U.S. military support to Ukraine — from accusations of direct involvement in the war.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt immigration raids in Los Angeles and several other counties in California, after ruling in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union's civil rights lawsuit. "As required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Defendants shall be enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless the agent or officer has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law," U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong wrote in her ruling. The judge determined that federal agents cannot "rely solely" on certain factors
A federal appeals court on Friday quashed plea bargains that would spare three alleged Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators from the death penalty in exchange for confessing guilt, extending the troubled prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Guantanamo detainees accused of engineering the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.
“The families of the victims and the American public have a strong interest in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in the 2-1 opinion. “In particular, the judgment about whether respondents should face the death penalty is a grave one that requires political accountability.”
Minnesota HR director now on leave after
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
A human resources director for the State of Minnesota is now on leave after sending a profanity-laced email from his official work account to an Alpha News reporter following an inquiry about racist posts on his social media page. It started after Alpha News received an email about LaVon “Vonnie” Phillips. A search of the state directory website shows Phillips listed as a “Human Resources Director 1” for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). State records also indicate that Phillips earns six-figures and is paid $55.45 per hour. The tipster raised concerns about Phillips and claimed his social media page is “littered with racist comments about ‘white folk.’”
Vietnam thought it had a preliminary deal with the U.S. to lower its tariff level substantially. Then, at the last minute, President Donald Trump raised the rate. As a result, the Vietnamese government still has not formally accepted a key part of the agreement the president touted on social media last week, despite Trump’s claim in the post that the terms had been agreed to by Vietnam’s leader, Tô Lâm. And neither side has released documentation of those terms, raising questions about whether they did, in fact, reach an agreement, as the White House labors to prove it is making headway in its trade negotiations with dozens of major partners.
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The Trump administration has sued California over its animal cruelty laws, saying the state's regulation of chicken farms has led to high egg prices across the country.
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China and the European Union can’t seem to get along, despite sharing a common foe in U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade war. On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that there needed to be a “genuine rebalancing” in the China-Europe relationship. Her comments cast a shadow over an upcoming China-EU summit, where the two sides are meant to hash out geopolitical and economic issues.
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A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt immigration raids in Los Angeles and several other counties in California, after ruling in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union's civil rights lawsuit. "As required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Defendants shall be enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless the agent or officer has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law," U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong wrote in her ruling. The judge determined that federal agents cannot "rely solely" on certain factors
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said during her book tour last weekend that she views Supreme Court opinions as a way to voice her personal convictions.
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You knew in your heart of hearts from the very beginning.
Even as you watched those first flames take the first houses and then leap up through the canyons and down through the hillsides, through the breaks, even jumping PCH to gobble up the houses tucked next to the highway itself - those uniquely SoCal structures sandwiched between the asphalt and that big, blue Pacific surf...you knew.
You knew would never see it again, for all the gargoyle grin assurances of the mayor who couldn't be bothered to be there when the flames broke out. For all the slickster, huckstering, faux promises
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Minnesota HR director now on leave after
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
saying ‘white folk’ are ‘morally
bankrupt’ and ‘liars’ 26 replies
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CORRECTION: The mandate starting a 90-day clock for Trump to appeal the appeals court decision from last year was issued Thursday night. The appeals court last year had upheld a jury’s verdict finding Trump liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. An earlier story included incorrect information. - A federal appeals court on Thursday formally closed out President Trump’s appeal of a jury’s verdict finding him liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
The mandate starts the 90-day clock for Trump to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and GOP U.S. Senate candidate who has been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent years, confirmed that he and his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, are divorcing.
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Report: Kash Patel 'Going Nowhere,' Too
Busy Directing 'Major' Investigation Into Russiagate 21 replies
Busy Directing 'Major' Investigation Into Russiagate 21 replies
The Friday news cycle was dominated by reports that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino skipped work and is considering resigning because of disagreements with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Jeffrey Epstein files and the way their release was handled.
Many pundits felt that the AG had overpromised but then under-delivered on possible new revelations in the investigation of the convicted pedophile. The Department of Justice announced Monday that there was no Epstein “client list” and that it was confirmed that he died by suicide in his Rikers Island jail cell and was not murdered. It was a conclusion that left many observers dissatisfied, including, reportedly, Bongino.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass promised that illegal aliens would receive cash payments as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have continued conducting raids and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.
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Per the outlet, the cash cards “should be available in about a week,” and will be given out “by immigrants rights groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.”
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Some prosecutors argue that a plea deal guaranteed incarceration, and a trail conviction will be less certain.