Sanctuary Cities Grow to 340:  A report released Thursday by the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that the list of sanctuary cities in the U.S. has surpassed 340, shielding an average of 1,000 illegal immigrants a month from deportation last year, and over 2,000 of those have been arrested for more crimes.  Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times reports that Santa Clara County Jail in California, for example, has released 1,349 immigrants that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) specifically requested be held for pickup and deportation.  Over 16,000 illegal immigrants intended for deportation were released between January and June of this year.  The Homeland Security Secretary says that sanctuary cities' refusal to cooperate with federal authorities is one reason why deportations in fiscal year 2015, which ended October 1, are at their lowest level in 10 years and down 50 percent from their peak in 2012.  New legislation, passed in the House, would require the Secretary to publicly list sanctuary cities, withhold federal grant money from those jurisdictions, and create a mandatory five-year minimum prison sentence for any illegal immigrant found guilty of twice sneaking into the U.S. or sneaking back after receiving a felony conviction. 

Cop Lured from Vehicle, Beaten:  A California police officer was lured from his vehicle by a man and beaten early Monday while another man filmed the assault and encouraged the attacker.  Fox News reports that 20-year-old Juan Gomez approached the Sacramento police officer sitting in his cruiser around 12:30 a.m. and told him that there was a man with a gun nearby, and immediately assaulted the officer when he stepped out of the vehicle, attempting to take his firearm.  Another man, 35-year-old Jamaral Lee, saw the incident and began recording it on his cellphone, ignoring the officer's cries for help and shouting, "You can fight, but don't grab the officer's gun!"  to Gomez.  The officer was eventually aided by private security guards and treated at the hospital and released.  Gomez is charged with assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, and Lee faces charges of assault and battery of a police officer, advocating injury to a police officer and resisting arrest.

Chicago: Mass Shooting Capital of America:  Chicago is America's mass shooting capital, and some of the city's worst neighborhoods are more dangerous to live in than the world's most murderous countries.  Justin Glawe of the Daily Beast reports that Chicago's West Garfield Park, with a population of 18,000, had 21 murders last year...a homicide rate of 116 per 100,000 residents.  The world homicide capitol, Honduras, has a homicide rate of just 90.  Other lethal Chicago neighborhoods including West Englewood, Englewood, Chatham and South Chicago, beat out the world's deadly nations of Venezuela, Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala.  A huge problem for the city is mass shootings - defined as having three or more victims - having had 192 as of July 25 of this year.  However, the outrage over these incidents is nonexistent compared to other mass shootings, such as last week's massacre in Roseburg, Oregon.  And for every person killed by gunfire in the Chicago, another four are shot and survive.  Illegal guns are a major contributor to the bloodshed, and Chicago police say that they recover an illegal firearm every 75 minutes. According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Illinois ranks 8th among the ten states with the most restrictive gun laws.