By Rachel Blevins

As public trust in the mainstream media continues to fall to a new all-time low each year, it may come as no surprise that the same outlets promising to provide you with “fair and balanced” coverage, are actually censoring truth and feeding you content that is approved by their social interests. However, as social media becomes more prevalent, it is even more obvious when the MSM ignores the most crucial stories.
Here are the top 5 stories the mainstream media missed in 2017:
1. The “War on Cops” hit a new low in 2017—but the number of people killed by U.S. police remains high

The number of police officers who died on the job was at its second-lowest point in over 50 years in 2017, according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. A total of 128 officers died on duty, 44 of whom were shot and killed. Nearly one-third fewer officers died of gunshot wounds this year when compared to 2016, when 143 officers died and 66 were shot and killed.

While 128 police officers died on the on job in 2017, it should be noted that 47 of the deaths were traffic related, and 16 deaths were due to illness unrelated to the job. In the last 50 years, the only time the record of police deaths was lower was in 2013, when 116 police died on duty.

While the vast majority were killed by officer-issued firearms, several were killed by police tasers, patrol cars, and restraint or physical force. The victims include pregnant mothers, innocent children and disabled people.
2. The “War on Cannabis” is still ongoing, but a host of new research has proved the power of the government’s least favorite plant in 2017

This year could be seen as just another one in which the federal government refused to acknowledge the medicinal value of cannabis, but it was also the year that a number of studies served as a reminder that the benefits from cannabis go far beyond anything manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2017 alone, studies were released showing that cannabis has a “significant effect” on killing cancer cells; reduces the need for prescription pain medication, thus curing opioid addiction; can be used as a treatment to help prevent HIV from becoming AIDS; has been found to work as a “miracle” treatment for children with autism; has been shown to significantly reduce seizures from epilepsy in 90 percent of patients; and it can used by Emergency Rooms to treat stroke and cardiac arrest.

In fact, a bombshell study noted that if legalized nationwide, cannabis could prevent nearly 50,000 premature deaths every year.
3. The “War on the Middle East” is ongoing, and U.S. foreign policy is fueling genocide in the region’s poorest country

While the United States’ intervention in the Middle East has caused hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian deaths over the years, the poorest country in the region reached a new height in 2017. After just two years, the death toll from the brutal proxy war in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia and fueled by the U.S., surpassed 10,000 with over 40,000 wounded.

The numbers are staggering with reports from the United Nations and Unicef indicating that more than 7 million civilians in Yemen are suffering from starvation, and 19 million out of the country’s 27 million population are “in need of some form of aid.” At least 9.6 million children—or 80 percent of the children in the country—are in need of humanitarian assistance, and nearly half a million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
4. The “War on Transparency” is becoming more obvious as the MSM refuses to address the glaring inconsistencies in the official narrative of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history

It has been nearly three months since 58 people were killed and 546 injured in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, in what has been dubbed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Yet even with the incredibly high number of victims, the official narrative has been accepted by the mainstream media, and the shooting was quick to disappear from headlines.

In addition to the fact that the alleged shooter, Stephen Paddock, is accused of carrying out the shooting from the window of a room on the 32nd floor of one of the most popular hotels in Las Vegas, and no surveillance footage has been released, there are also a number of legitimate questions.

One of the most important reasons to question the official narrative of the shooting is based on the fact that it has changed multiple times. From the facts surrounding whether an officer discharged his weapon upon entering Paddock’s room, to the presence of police and security guards when the shooting began, the official story has been riddled with inconsistencies.
5. The “War on Civil Liberties” has continued to flourish, as Congress has shown a blatant disregard for the Fourth Amendment in 2017

The decisions made by the United States Congress this year should leave every American asking whether the government is aware of the presence of the Fourth Amendment, which is meant to protect Americans from unlawful searches and seizures without a warrant.

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President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 76 into law in August, which was passed by Congress with overwhelming support and very little attention from the media. However, included in the bill to create a Metrorail Safety Commission in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, is a clause that gives the members of that commission the broad authority to conduct warrantless searches of the homes and properties adjacent to the Metrorail system.

Congress is also preparing to vote on the USA Liberty Act, a bill that will reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire on Dec. 31. While the assumption may be that if the bill is not signed into law, then the provisions from Section 702 will no longer be legal and the government will stop collecting data from innocent Americans without warrants, intelligence officials have revealed that “the government believes it can keep the program going for months,” even if it is not reauthorized.

Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing narratives. Follow Rachel on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This article first appeared at The Free Thought Project.