WASHINGTON DC – The Obama administration is expected to announce an agreement with Cuba in early July to reopen embassies and restore diplomatic relations severed more than five decades ago, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The two sides hope to conclude the deal by the first week of next month, clearing the way for Secretary of State John Kerry to visit Havana soon afterwards for a flag-raising ceremony to upgrade the U.S. Interests Section to a full-scale embassy, the sources said. (more…)

Noted immediately is the absence of W. Patrick Swanton, replaced by Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman. According to Stroman there were snipers positioned prior to the chaos, they also carried rifles with full-auto capability, however they only fired 12 rounds.

Here’s the report by Olivia Messer a local reporter for the Waco Tribune:

WACO – Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman reported Friday that three Waco officers fired a total of 12 shots during the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout.

Stroman said 12 shell casings were fired from police rifles and found on the scene. No other law enforcement officers from other agencies fired their weapons, he said.

So far a total of 44 casings have been recovered, but Stroman said that total doesn’t include any casings that remain inside revolvers that were fired. All other shells found at the scene weren’t from law enforcement weapons, he said. (more…)

A remarkable twist in the story of the biggest data breach in U.S. history. The Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) previously said they discovered the breach when it had “undertaken an aggressive effort to update its cybersecurity posture”.

However, that “update” claim is somewhat disingenuous. The hack was actually discovered by a cyber software company as it was running a product demo on the system. The company discovered embedded malware that existed inside the OPM for over a year…

WASHINGTON DC – As officials of the Obama administration announced that millions of sensitive records associated with current and past federal employees and contractors had been exposed by a long-running infiltration of the networks and systems of the Office of Personnel Management on June 4, they claimed the breach had been found during a government effort to correct problems with OPM’s security.

An OPM statement on the attack said that the agency discovered the breach as it had “undertaken an aggressive effort to update its cybersecurity posture.” And a DHS spokesperson told Ars that “interagency partners” were helping the OPM improve its network monitoring “through which OPM detected new malicious activity affecting its information technology systems and data in April 2015.” (more…)

Hat Tip Nettles – Wow. It appears the Dallas area might actually have an investigative journalist willing to expose the sexploitation of minors.  That’s really the bigger picture behind the McKinney “Craig Ranch” pool fiasco.

#mckinneypoolparty promoters were set to have another event. Here's a preview of my @CBSDFW 6pm story. #makeitclap pic.twitter.com/D8MotoedIM

— Mireya Villarreal (@ABCMireya) June 11, 2015

UPDATE 7:30pm EST – Here is the filed report:

(more…)

The key part of this vote is to remove the possibility for trade defeats in the Senate.  If Fast Track authority is passed/granted then a simple majority of 51 votes will be all that is required to approve President Obama’s trade deal.  

Mitch McConnell has essentially granted President Obama new powers not enumerated in the constitution.  John Boehner is about to do the same thing in the House of Representatives.  Paul Ryan has cemented his cross-over to the dark side of Chamber of Commerce Republicans led by CoC head Tom Donohue…..

(Via Washington Examiner) The House will vote Friday on legislation to give President Obama “fast track” authority to secure trade deals.

Republican leaders announced plans for the vote in a closed-door meeting with their rank and file, who are divided over whether to support the legislation.

The vote is likely to be close. With just two days until the vote, GOP leaders continue to negotiate with members to win their approval for the bill. (more…)

[scribd id=268096755 key=key-FwN9zcW5U8k2cqwLT4X7 mode=scroll]

~ Irony So Thick It Is Almost Unbelievable ~

The same school district, Miami-Dade, and the same School Superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, that forced Miami-Dade School Police to hide the criminal conduct of Trayvon Martin (and all young black male students), has now fired a School Principal for stating support for a McKinney Police Officer on his Facebook page.

(Left) North Miami High School Principal Alberto Iber – (Right) Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvahlo with Vice-President Joe Biden

According to the Miami Herald:

[…]  The Miami-Dade County school district announced Wednesday that Alberto Iber had been removed as principal after going online to defend a white Texas police officer who waved a gun at black teens while responding to a call about an unruly pool party.

[…] “He did nothing wrong,” Iber wrote in a comment that showed his Facebook picture, name, school and title. “He was afraid for his life. I commend him for his actions.”

Iber’s stance quickly prompted a passionate online response from Ambrose Sims, a black, retired Miami Beach Police veteran who joined the force at a time of racial strife in Miami in the 1980s. He also came out as gay and led a campaign for equal rights. Sims wrote, in part: “Such a comment reveals to me that you’re a serious part of the problem.”

(more…)

An email has surfaced as part of a defense motion to recuse Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.  The email is from Mosby’s office in the weeks just prior to the arrest of Freddie Gray.

In the March email Mosby is specifically asking the Baltimore police to target the exact intersection where Freddie Gray was apprehended –  and work on eliminating increased drug activity.  (Via Baltimore Sun)

[…]  “It must be understood that Mrs. Mosby was directing these officers to one of the highest crime intersections in Baltimore City and asking them to make arrests, conduct surveillance, and stop crime,” the defense attorneys wrote. “Now, the State is apparently making the unimaginable argument that the police officers are not allowed to use handcuffs to protect their safety and prevent flight in an investigatory detention where the suspect fled in a high crime area and actually had a weapon on him.”  (link)

The email was sent from Joshua Rosenblatt, division chief of Mosby’s Crime Strategies Unit to Baltimore Police Major Osborne Robinson.

The most damning part of the communication is from Major Osborne Robinson to his police officers informing them of the State Attorney expectation. (more…)

An underreported story today comes amid the resignation of Stacia Hylton, the head of the U.S. Marshals Service.  The timing of the resignation could not be more transparently tied to a growing investigation into domestic surveillance programs operated without oversight, and potentially unconstitutional.

For the past several years stories have been quietly surfacing about the USMS using stealth cell phone captures via drone and fixed unit operations known as “Stingray Devices”.

Stingray technology secretly captures cell phone communication, data, voice and text from users without their knowledge.

In addition the USMS has recently been outlined using Automatic License Plate Reading (ALPR) technology to track movements of people driving. Both programs track every American and are not related specifically to investigative foundations.  (more…)

Here’s The Story of The McKinney Pool Fiasco – Part 2

The Origin – The woman who organized the event in McKinney, Texas is named Tatiana Rhodes (or Tatyana Rhodes).  DOB 04/02/1995, she is 20-years-old. Most of her social media accounts have now been scrubbed as the publicity expanded and the sunlight upon her endeavors increased.

Tatiana had been promoting a party via twitter under the hashtag name “Dime Piece Cookout” for approximately a month. She planned the event at a sub-division called “Craig Ranch” in McKinney Texas.

Tatiana (pictured below left) lives in the sub-division with her mother Lashana Burkes (aka “Lashana Burks” pictured right). Both appear to be natives of Chicago.

The Craig Ranch subdivision has a neighborhood park and a gated pool and clubhouse for residents. The pool and clubhouse is gated and a scan card is needed to gain access. (You an explore via google earth here)

The subdivision has a Homeowners Association (HOA) which regulates and controls the activities in/around the HOA swimming pool and clubhouse and has strict rules for use thereof. (more…)