2 Civilians Indicted over Pearl Harbor Environmental Disaster

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2 Civilians Indicted over Pearl Harbor Environmental Disaster

(Headline USA) A grand jury has indicted two civilian workers on charges they caused the Navy to provide the Hawaii Department of Health with false information about jet fuel that spilled from a Pearl Harbor storage facility before it later seeped into drinking water and sickened 6,000 people over Thanksgiving in 2021.

The indictments are the first to result from the fuel spill that angered Hawaii residents, lawmakers and military service members and their families. The military decided to close the aging World War II-era fuel tanks after the spill.

A Navy investigation in 2022 found shoddy management and human error caused the leak at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The Defense Department’s inspector general last year found Navy officials lacked sufficient understanding of the risks of maintaining massive fuel storage tanks on top of a Pearl Harbor drinking water well. The Navy issued written reprimands to three retired military officers for their roles in the fuel spill.

The indictment returned Thursday alleges John Floyd and Nelson Wu provided the Navy with inaccurate information about a May 2021 spill that occurred six months before the fuel got in the drinking water. The indictment says they caused the Navy to mislead the Hawaii Department of Health about how much fuel leaked from one of the tanks and reassured officers that their information was accurate.

This caused the Navy to tell the department in the months after May that 1,618 gallons leaked instead of 20,000 gallons and failed to report that it was unable to find 18,000 gallons, prosecutors say. The indictment alleges Floyd and Wu redacted data from records provided. Floyd and Wu were each indicted on one count of conspiracy and one count of making false statements.

Floyd was the Fuels Department deputy director at Red Hill while Wu was the Fuels Department supervisory engineer.

The federal public defender’s office, which is representing Floyd, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Wu’s attorney, Alen Kaneshiro, said he didn’t have a comment at this time.

The Navy’s investigation found fuel gushed from a ruptured pipe on May 6, 2021. Most of it flowed into a fire suppression drain system, where it sat unnoticed for six months until a cart rammed a sagging line holding the liquid and caused fuel to pour out. Crews believed they mopped up most of this fuel, but they failed to get it all and some flowed into a drain and drinking water well that supplied water to 90,000 people at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Wayne Tanaka, the director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said culpability extended beyond the alleged actions of the two civilians. He said in a statement the Navy’s own investigation showed officials knew some 20,000 gallons were unaccounted for after the May incident and yet it didn’t inform the community or regulators. He said Navy leaders sidelined a whistleblower who sounded alarms about the mismanagement of Red Hill.

Fuel leaks at Red Hill had occurred before, including in 2014, prompting the Sierra Club of Hawaii and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to ask the military to move the tanks to a place where they wouldn’t threaten Oahu’s water. But the Navy refused, saying the island’s water was safe.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Beverly Hills Schools Chief Reverses Israeli Flag Decision

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Beverly Hills Schools Chief Reverses Israeli Flag Decision

(, The Center Square) Following the Beverly Hills Unified School District board’s vote to display Israeli flags on all its campuses, Superintendent Alex Cherniss overruled the decision, citing safety concerns.

“In light of heightened safety concerns around the displaying of flags on our campuses, I have made the decision to take immediate action for the safety and security of our students,” Dr. Cherniss wrote in a statement. “Until further notice, no flags will be displayed on our campuses other than the flag of the United States of America and the flag of the state of California.”

Cherniss noted his decision follows the California School Boards Association policy that states, “when immediate action is necessary to avoid any risk to the safety or security of students, staff, or district property or to prevent disruption of school operations, the superintendent or designee shall have the authority to act on behalf of the district in a manner that is consistent with law and policies.”

The BHUSD held a special board meeting Friday to discuss the new resolution, including  “the Display and Flying of Flags on District property” policy.

In this meeting, board members revised and edited the new resolution in light of the superintendent’s decision.

“Whereas the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) and its Governing Board of Education (Board) seeks to maintain a consistent and neutral standard for the flying and display of flags across all district properties, facilities, and campuses by the District,” the revised resolution stated, as part of the preambles to the new decision.

The only authorized flags that will now be flown will be the U.S. flag, the California flag and the respective Beverly Hills school’s flag, the board resolution added.

This comes after the BHUSD passed a resolution on Tuesday in a 3-2 vote approving a proposal to display Israel’s flag around schools and other district facilities to show support for the Jewish community, not an endorsement of the Israeli government, the district said.

“The display of a flag during Jewish American Heritage Month is not a direct endorsement of the Israeli government,” said board member Russell Stuart. “It is not a direct endorsement of any geopolitical topic. It is a support for our Jewish students and the Jewish community.”

Opponents of displaying the Israeli flag in a public school say doing so blurs the line between supporting the Jewish community and endorsing the Israeli government.

“I believe that the State of Israel has a right to exist; of course, I do,” said Andrea Grossman, a BHUSD graduate whose three children also attended school in the district. “Israel, though, is not my country. I am a Jew, but Israel is not, nor will it ever be, my country.”

Grossman said it’s appropriate to fly the Israeli flag at her synagogue in Beverly Hills or at a private day school but not at a public school.

The Center Square reached out to Superintendent Cherniss for a comment on this reversal, but did not receive a response.

Journal Reveals Trans Shooter ‘Tired of Being Trans’ Before Church Massacre

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Journal Reveals Trans Shooter ‘Tired of Being Trans’ Before Church Massacre

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The trans-identified shooter who killed two children and injured 18 others at a Catholic Church in Minneapolis expressed regret over his gender transition, the New York Post reported Thursday.

The now-dead shooter, Robin Westman—born Robert Westman—allegedly wrote in a journal that he was “tired of being trans” and regretted he “brain-washed” himself.

The journal, reportedly written in a mix of Russian Cyrillic and English, revealed Westman’s internal battle about gender before carrying out the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.

“I only keep [long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,” Westman wrote, as quoted by the Post.

“I can’t cut my hair now as it would be [an] embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported. It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack,” he added.

In another entry, Westman admitted that he did not want to “dress girly all the time,” but wrote, “I guess sometimes I really like it.”

He continued: “I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”

Court documents show Westman changed his name in 2020 with the approval of his mother, Mary Grace Westman, who worked at the church’s school of same name.

On Wednesday, Westman opened fire at the Catholic Church during a back-to-school mass shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Westman was allegedly familiar with the parish, as his mother previously worked there as a secretary before retiring in 2021. He also graduated from the Annunciation school in 2017.

Anti-Catholic and Christian Attacks on the Rise

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Anti-Catholic and Christian Attacks on the Rise

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) As conservatives sounded the alarm over rising anti-Semitism, another threat quietly spread across America: increasing attacks on Christians and Catholics.

The Family Research Council found that, since 2018, attacks targeting Christian and Catholic churches have surged by 730%, according to its latest Hostility Against Churches report.

Fox News first reported on the report:

Although the report was released on Aug. 11, its findings gained renewed attention following a mass shooting at a Catholic church carried out by a self-identifying transgender individual.

The suspect, Robin Westman, was born male as Robert Westman. He changed his name by 2020, at the age of 17, with his mother’s approval.

Westman opened fire at the Annunciation Church on Wednesday morning, killing two children, ages 8 and 11, and injuring 18 others.

Westman was the second trans-identifying individual to carry out a mass shooting at a Christian institution. In 2023, Aiden Hale, a transgender man born Audrey Elizabeth Hake, killed three nine-year-old children and three adults at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. This was the deadliest school shooting in the state’s history.

The FRC counted 415 hostile acts against 383 churches across 43 states in 2024 alone. The group warned that the actual number may be much higher, as many incidents are overlooked by the media.

The 2024 total was more than double of the incidents found in 2022, though slightly lower than the 485 incidents recorded in 2023. FRC’s initial report, surveying 56 months, found a total of 420 incidents.

These alarming figures come as conservatives continue to decry the rise in attacks targeting religious groups.

Media coverage, however, has focused on the surge in anti-Semitic violence, intensified by the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. This was the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust.

Seattle PD Prepping for Potential Protests over Christian Concert at Gas Works Park

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Seattle PD Prepping for Potential Protests over Christian Concert at Gas Works Park

(, The Center Square) The Seattle Police Department is gearing up for what it hopes will be a peaceful event Saturday at Gas Works Park.

Christian artist Sean Feucht, the founder of the Let Us Worship movement, is bringing his “Revive in ’25” tour to the city.

“The city of Seattle has invited us back to Gas Works Park!!! It’s time to bring the fire again to the city! This Saturday at 5 [p.m.] at Gas Works Park!” Feucht posted on Facebook.

Feucht tried to get a permit to perform at Gas Works in September 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns but was denied. He ended up moving the concert to a street near the park.

Saturday’s event was initially planned to take place in Cal Anderson Park, the heart of Seattle’s gay community, but was instead moved to Gas Works Park.

Feucht has pushed back on the transgender movement and LGBTQ agenda, which has inspired protests at nearly all of his events.

Feucht announced his planned concert in Seattle days after police and counterprotesters clashed at Cal Anderson Park over Memorial Day weekend, when there was a similar concert with local Christian pastors. Twenty-three people were arrested.

As reported by The Center Square, two days later, Christians gathered in front of Seattle City Hall for a concert to protest what they called anti-faith policies of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council.

Two counterprotesters were taken into custody after confronting an independent conservative journalist who was filming their activity. Several other protesters, some wearing gas masks, were also arrested in separate incidents.

Charlette LeFevre, founder of the Capitol Hill Pride Festival, called it “irresponsible and offensive” that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle have permitted Feucht’s concert.

“It’s somewhat laughable because it’s still within the city of Seattle,” LeFevre said in a Thursday interview with The Center Square. “It’s ridiculous and shocking to think we’ll just shift you to another public park because it’s still within the city of Seattle. Let’s face it … the LGBTQ community is all over. Not only the city, but this nation, and to sit there and say it makes it OK now to put it in another city park… It’s a little bit insulting to the LGBTQAI community.”

LeFevre suggested that what he considers Feucht’s anti-trans message amounts to hate speech.

“Anywhere to me within the city, within the county, within the state, within the U.S., where you have a person here who is spewing hate speech,” LeFevre said. “When he’s out there defaming and demonizing the gay community, that’s not right.”

Feucht and other faith leaders say their message is about love, not hate.

“God is using this to provoke a nationwide conversation about religious freedom and just testing how tolerant these tolerant people are,” Feucht said in a recent Christian Broadcasting Network podcast.

The Center Square contacted the SPD on Friday to find out how it is preparing for Saturday’s event.

“The Seattle Police Department will respond to criminal behavior, including acts of violence and significant property damage, while enforcing city and state law. We will be utilizing POET officers as the main form of communication between any groups that show up. See our website: The Seattle Police Department Police Outreach Engagement Team (POET),” Det. Eric Munoz, SPD public information officer, said in an email.

According to SPD, the goal for planned or unplanned demonstrations is “to have members of the SPD Police Outreach Engagement Team (POET) talk with organizers and ensure people can safely and effectively exercise their First Amendment rights. Members of POET wear special uniforms specifically labeled “POET.”

The POET officers are commissioned officers carrying department-issued handguns.

A spokesperson from Harrell’s office emailed a statement about its decision to permit the event at Gas Works Park.

“The U.S. Constitution requires Seattle Parks and Recreation and the city of Seattle to allow the expression of free speech regardless of the content of the speech,” the email said.

“Under the First Amendment, the city cannot decline a permit based on the anticipated message of the event or views of the organizers. At the same time, the city strongly celebrates and supports the LGBTQ+ community. Mayor Harrell and Councilmember Hollingsworth’s request to the organizers to move from Cal Anderson Park and Capitol Hill to another location was based in maintaining public safety. We will continue working with LGBTQ+ residents and organizations to uplift our community and create a welcoming, inclusive city for all.”

Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Tariffs, but Leaves Them in Place

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Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Tariffs, but Leaves Them in Place

(, The Center Square) A federal appeals court said Friday that President Donald Trump doesn’t have the authority to issue blanket tariffs, in a blow to the president’s domestic and economic policy plans.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous lower court ruling, but said the tariffs could remain in place while the administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 7-4 decision, the court said tariff power rests with Congress, not the president. It also said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act didn’t grant the president such authority.

“Because we agree that IEEPA’s grant of presidential authority to ‘regulate’ imports does not authorize the tariffs imposed by the Executive Orders, we affirm,” the court wrote.

“For the second time in this case, a federal court has held that the President’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs are unlawful,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, which brought the case. “The President cannot lawfully impose tariffs on his own; and IEEPA does not give him unlimited unilateral tariff authority. This decision protects American businesses and consumers from the uncertainty and harm caused by these unlawful tariffs.”

Trump responded on Truth Social shortly after, calling the appeal court partisan

“Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end,” the president said. “If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong. … But they know the United States of America will win in the end.”

One of the four dissenting judges, Circuit Judge Richard Taranto, wrote: “We conclude that IEEPA’s authorization of presidential action in this realm is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority under the Supreme Court’s decisions, which have upheld broad grants of authority, including tariffing authority, in this foreign-affairs-related area.”

Trump announced a slate of “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 on imports from every U.S. trading partner. He then paused those tariffs for 90 days while working on trade deals with top U.S. trading partners. After reaching deals with some key partners – and extending talks with China, Canada and Mexico – Trump put in force the highest tariffs in nearly a century on 66 countries, the 27-bloc European Union and others. Each nation was assigned a specific import duty, with some as high as 50%. Those tariffs went into effect Aug. 7.

In a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit filed after oral arguments, Solicitor General D. John Sauer and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate warned the court that tariffs must stay in place to prevent a financial disaster.

“Suddenly revoking the President’s tariff authority under IEEPA would have catastrophic consequences for our national security, foreign policy, and economy,” they wrote in a letter. “The President believes that our country would not be able to pay back the trillions of dollars that other countries have already committed to pay, which could lead to financial ruin.”

In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade unanimously ruled that Congress did not give the president tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The ruling voided Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and struck down other tariffs Trump issued under the IEEPA. The administration appealed to the Federal Circuit, which ruled that Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs could remain in place while the legal challenge continued.

New tariffs raised $58.5 billion in revenue between January and June of this year before accounting for income and payroll tax offsets, according to an analysis of federal data from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. The study found that the average effective tariff rate increased to 9.14% in June from 2.2% in January, when Trump returned to office.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families and pay down the national debt.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods paid by the person or company that imports the goods. The importer can absorb the cost of the tariffs or try to pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.

Economists, businesses and some public companies have warned that tariffs could raise prices on a wide range of consumer products.

Insubordination? Cook Keeps Office and Files Despite Trump Firing

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Insubordination? Cook Keeps Office and Files Despite Trump Firing

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday asked the judge overseeing President Donald Trump’s firing of Fed Gov. Lisa Cook to allow her to remain in the post while the case plays out.

Powell has even allowed Cook to keep access to government electronics and documents, Bloomberg and CNBC said.

Powell specifically urged U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, to keep the “status quo” at the Federal Reserve until she rules on Trump’s authority to fire Cook.

Trump fired Cook following shocking allegations of mortgage fraud amid an investigation by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who referred the matter to the DOJ for criminal review.

Pulte accused Cook of claiming two properties as her main residence—an illegal act often made to obtain favorable loan terms.

On Friday, Pulte decried that Cook maintained access to her files, office and electronics despite Trump’s dismissal.

Cook sued Trump and Powell, claiming Trump lacked the authority to fire her. The Fed is not representing Cook in the lawsuit.

According to CNBC, the federal agency refused to say whether Cook was at the office or working remotely after Trump fired her.

However, Cook and her attorney, Abbe Lowell, insisted she would remain in her position even after Trump’s order.

“I will not resign,” Cook said. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

On Friday, Cook claimed the mortgage fraud could be the result of a clerical error. However, she has provided no evidence to support this defense.

This is a developing story.

Kristi Noem Cleans House at FEMA after Major Security Breach

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Kristi Noem Cleans House at FEMA after Major Security Breach

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Homeland Security Kristi Noem fired more than two dozen “inept” IT staffers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency after they reportedly neglected basic security protocols.

Noem announced the mass firing on Friday, saying FEMA Chief Information Officer Charles Armstrong, Chief Information Security Officer Gregory Edwards were among those fired. Twenty-two others were also immediately terminated.

“FEMA’s career IT leadership failed on every level. Their incompetence put the American people at risk,” Noem said.

She explained that a routine cybersecurity review found a “threat actor” had gained access to FEMA’s network. Further investigation revealed several “severe” lapses in security. Shockingly, FEMA’s IT staffers—described by Noem as “entrenched bureaucrats”—resisted efforts to fix the problems.

“These deep-state individuals were more interested in covering up their failures than in protecting the Homeland and American citizens’ personal data, so I terminated them immediately,” Noem added. “The American people deserve results from their government.”

According to DHS, the failures included a lack of agency-wide multi-factor authentication and use of unauthorized “legacy protocol.”

FEMA also failed to fix known and critical vulnerabilities, in addition to operating with an inadequate visibility.

The breach was especially shocking given that FEMA spent nearly half a billion dollars on IT and cybersecurity measures in Fiscal Year 2025 alone.

“Despite burning hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, FEMA’s IT leadership still neglected its basic duties and exposed the entire Department to cyberattacks,” DHS denounced.

Bill Clinton Spotted Carrying Heart Emergency Device

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Bill Clinton Spotted Carrying Heart Emergency Device

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, the twice-failed presidential candidate, were spotted Thursday carrying a defibrillator bag, raising renewed concerns about the former president’s health.

The Clintons were boarding a private plane while carrying what the New York Post identified as a “Propaq MD Air Medical Bag” — a monitor and defibrillator used in the event of emergencies.

The images come amid growing worries about Bill’s heart complications. He underwent a quadruple bypass in 2004, just three years after leaving the White House.

Doctors at the time said he had avoided a catastrophic heart attack, according to the Post.

A year later, he was hospitalized to repair a collapsed lung caused by scar tissue following the bypass.

In June, Clinton was compared to former President Joe Biden after being seen stumbling ahead of a book event in New York City. Clinton is 79 years old, three years younger than Biden.

Clinton’s health is not the only issue regaining national attention. His ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have again made headlines.

Most recently, he faced scrutiny after the Clinton Foundation lauded former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell years after she was mentioned in lawsuits against Epstein.

In his 2024 memoir, Clinton denied knowledge of Epstein’s sex abuse while admitting he used Epstein’s private jet.

“The bottom line is, even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, traveling on Epstein’s plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward. I wish I had never met him,” he wrote, as quoted by the Post.

 

Victims Identified in Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting

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Victims Identified in Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting

(Jon Styf, The Center Square) “As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”

Those are the words of the parents of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, one of the victims of a Wednesday shooting at the Church of Annunciation in Minneapolis. The other was 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel.

The students were shot while attending Mass on Wednesday morning by a 23-year-old shooter who formerly attended the church and school.

Both of the students who were killed were identified, along with many of the other 18 injured in the shooting, as families have begun GoFundMe pages to raise funds in the victim’s honor.

Moyski’s family has nearly $100,000 raised of a goal of $180,000.

“Harper was a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her,” wrote parents Mike Moyski and Jackie Flavin. “Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss.”

Another victim was 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who was shot in the attack and is currently in the intensive care unit at an area hospital. Her mother is a pediatric critical care nurse who was called to assist in the shooting before finding out that it was her child’s school.

“She has already undergone emergency surgery, and her medical team is doing everything they can to stabilize her,” the fundraiser said. “Her road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult — but she is strong, and she is not alone.”

The family of 13-year-old Endre say that he was shot twice during Mass on Wednesday morning.

“In the face of unimaginable fear and pain, Endre showed strength and faith beyond his years,” the fundraiser said. “Before he was rushed into surgery, Endre looked at the surgeon and asked one simple, powerful request, ‘Can you say a prayer with me?’”

 

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