(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan think tank expects that the United States will default on its debt in the summer or early fall if Congress doesn’t take action to address the debt limit before then. The timeline is similar to one the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released last week, saying lawmakers have until sometime between July and […]
Category: National News
15 Indiana motorcycle club members sentenced to over 155 years in prison for meth trafficking, firearms offenses
Michael Gannon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Indianapolis, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana announced that Jesse Wilson, 37, of Evansville, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his part in a larger conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Wilson is the last of fifteen members […]
Man with illegal firearm sent back to prison for 16 years for involvement in distributing methamphetamine
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Lebanon man on Tuesday to more than 16 years in federal prison for his involvement in distributing methamphetamine in St. Clair County. Michael P. O’Leary, 48, pled guilty to one count of methamphetamine distribution, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of felons […]
Biden administration proposes major new limits on asylum at the border
(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is rolling out a proposed rule that for two years would bar migrants from applying for asylum at the Southern border if they have not first asked for protection in a country they traveled through. The administration is seeking to limit asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border as a pandemic-era immigration […]
Two individuals sentenced to 6 years in prison for multimillion dollar, cattle trading, ponzi scheme
Two individuals were sentenced to six years in prison for their roles in a cattle-trading Ponzi scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in victim losses. According to court documents, from late 2017 until early 2019, Reva Joyce Stachniw, 71, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 59, of Buford, Georgia, along with a co-conspirator, ran […]
Federal-state task force grapples with power grid protection
(Missouri Independent) – A federal task force wrestled with the costs and benefits of better shielding the nation’s tens of thousands of electric substations from a growing number of attacks, like a neo-Nazi plot the FBI says it foiled earlier this month in Maryland, another that knocked out power to thousands in North Carolina in December and […]
Biden says no evidence yet that unidentified flying objects were tied to China spying
(Missouri Independent) – In his first address since the U.S. military shot down three unidentified flying objects last weekend, just days after taking down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the actions and said the skies above the U.S. will now be more closely scrutinized. Biden, who was under increasing […]
Congressional Budget Office: U.S. likely to default on debt between July and September unless Congress acts
(Missouri Independent) – Congress has until at least July to broker a bipartisan debt agreement if lawmakers want to avoid a first-ever default, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan scorekeeper, which typically details how much legislation would cost, released a report Wednesday saying that U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration have until sometime […]
Biden renews a call for action on gun control following Michigan State mass shooting
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden at an annual meeting with county leaders on Tuesday said there is much more work to be done on gun control legislation — such as banning assault-style weapons, which are typically used in most mass shootings. The call again for gun control came after a school shooting at Michigan State […]
U.S. Marshals capture over 800 fugitives in “Operation North Star”
The U.S. Marshals Service has concluded Operation North Star II (ONS II), a high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative aimed at combating violent crime in 10 cities with a significant number of homicides and shootings. This 30-day initiative resulted in the arrest of 833 fugitives, violent criminals, sex offenders, and self-identified gang members in Albuquerque, New Mexico; […]
Sixteen individuals plead guilty in drug trafficking conspiracy “Operation Titan Fall”
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that 16 individuals, charged in three (3) indictments, have all pleaded guilty to their respective roles in conspiring to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl and cocaine, in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) “Operation Titan Fall” investigation. The investigation yielded evidence from three drug trafficking organizations, and each defendant […]
Attorneys general from 23 GOP-led states back suit seeking to block abortion pill
(Missouri Independent) – Attorneys general representing nearly two dozen Republican states are backing a lawsuit that would remove the abortion pill from throughout the United States after more than two decades, eliminating the option even in states where abortion access remains legal. The state of Missouri filed its own brief in the case Friday while […]
Texas man who killed 23 and injured 22 others at El Paso Walmart pleads guilty
A Texas man who carried out the mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2019, killing 23 people and injuring 22 more, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a 90-count indictment, including 45 counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act […]
Texas couple, allegedly tied to 10 juvenile overdoses, three of them fatal, charged with fentanyl conspiracy
Two fentanyl dealers allegedly tied to as many as 10 juvenile overdoses, three of them fatal, have been federally charged, announced Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Eduardo A. Chávez Luis Eduardo Navarrete, 21, and Magaly Mejia Cano, 29, were charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. They were arrested at […]
Nine from Texas arrested for illegally distributing 1.5 million opioid pills
Nine Texas individuals were arrested in Houston on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in the unlawful distribution of 1.5 million opioid pills and other controlled substances. According to court documents, Kent Lyons, 52, of Houston; Roquel Turner, 47, of Manvel; and Traunce Alfred, 43, of Baytown, are charged with illegally distributing controlled substances, […]
Chairman Sam Graves introduces legislation to reverse Biden WOTUS Rule
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) led 152 of his House colleagues in introducing a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the Biden Administration’s flawed and burdensome “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule. This rule will lead to sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to […]
U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis
(Missouri Independent) – U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds […]
Woman dealing drugs from her restaurant sentenced to 10 years in prison
A 46-year-old Marysville, Washington woman, who co-owned a Lake Stevens, Washington restaurant used for drug trafficking, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for distributing methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Laura Rodriguez-Moreno has been in custody since she and five coconspirators were arrested on […]
Three individuals charged with operating multimillion-dollar fraud scheme targeting the elderly
A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment on Thursday charging three individuals with operating a mail fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of U.S. victims, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable. According to court documents, Kimberly Stamps, 46, of Gilbert, Arizona; John Kyle Muller, 56, of Boulder, Colorado; and Barbara Trickle, 78, […]
Of more than 7,500 threats against members of Congress in 2022, just 22 were prosecuted
(Missouri Independent) – Members of Congress receive thousands of threats a year, though just a fraction of the people who call, mail or email will ever be prosecuted — a situation that’s of great concern to the police who guard members. Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, […]