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August 2016 - page 3

Insurance Giant Aetna Walks From Obamacare Exchanges, Hundreds of Thousands of Americans, Amid Antitrust Dispute

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About one in seventeen Americans who get their health insurance on state-level Obamacare exchanges will have to find a new provider next year. Aetna, one of the country’s largest health insurance company, said on Monday that in 2017 it will stop offering individual plans through eleven states’ Affordable Care Act exchanges. States impacted by the decision include Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona. About 838,000 people are currently insured through Aetna’s individual plans sold on ACA state exchanges. Roughly 80 percent of them…

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Washington Post Reveals Immigrant Family Detention Center Made for-Profit Prison Company $1 Billion, in No-Bid Deal

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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) used an existing contract with a private prison company to reach a separate deal with the firm, without having to publicly solicit bids for a new detention center. ICE and the Corrections Corporation of America agreed on the four-year, $1 billion no-bid deal in 2014, to rapidly implement an Obama administration initiative designed to deter the arrival of asylum seekers from Central America. The terms of the agreement were reported on Monday in an investigation published by The…

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Sailor Who Photographed Nuclear Sub Cites Clinton Precedent in Bid to Avoid Jail Time

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Lawyers representing a Navy shipman convicted of mishandling government secrets reminded a federal judge last week of the leniency recently afforded to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, arguing that their client should receive similar considerations. Kristian Saucier could face more than six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of unauthorized collection of defense secrets. He was found to be in possession of six photos depicting classified compartments of a US nuclear submarine that he once served aboard. The six images, Saucier’s lawyers…

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Rep. Lieu says US “Aiding and Abetting What Appears to be War Crimes” in Saudi Bombing Campaign

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A Democratic lawmaker called on the Obama administration to cut off assistance to Saudi Arabia amid the country’s ongoing bombing campaign in Yemen, saying “the United States is aiding and abetting what appears to be war crimes.” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) took to social media on Sunday to decry the military initiative, amid renewed bombing by the Saudi-led coalition. Lieu made his comments on Facebook, while posting a Washington Post story, published Saturday, about the killing of 10 children by Saudi jets that had reportedly…

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Congressional Investigation Affirms Reporting on ISIL War Intelligence Manipulation

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A report issued on Thursday by a Republican congressional task force confirmed that military leaders doctored intelligence analyses in order to paint a rosier picture of the war on the Islamic State (ISIL). The investigation confirms Daily Beast reporting first published last year on the integrity of those intelligence reports, which originated from US Central Command (CENTCOM)—the arm of the Pentagon that oversees operations in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), one of the task force’s members, noted that…

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DOJ: Private Prisons More Violent, Less Secure

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A review of for-profit prisons by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General has concluded that the facilities are prone to more problems than their government-run counterparts. Examining several categories, including instances of contraband, lockdowns, and inmate discipline, the watchdog determined that private prisons ”incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP [Bureau of Prisons] institutions.” The report also knocked BOP officials for not conducting adequate oversight of for-profit facilities, noting that in just the last few years, “disturbances in several federal contract prisons…

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Feds Resist Calls to Reclassify Marijuana: It’s Still On Par With Heroin

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The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) informed the public on Thursday that it would not be removing marijuana from its most dangerous classification of narcotics. The agency had been considering rescheduling the substance, after significant pressure from Capitol Hill. Its current listing as a “Schedule I” means the DEA considers cannabis among the most dangerous drugs in existence–substances with little to no medicinal value, like heroin and ecstasy. The DEA, however, did make a slight tweak in its regulations that will allow more institutions to conduct medical…

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DOJ Report Recognizes Racist, Authoritarian Policing in Baltimore

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The Justice Department confirmed that the Baltimore Police Department engages in racist practices and routinely violates the civil rights of those that their officers have ostensibly signed up to protect and serve. In a report published on Wednesday, the department said BPD operated in systematic violation of the First and Fourth Amendment, infringing upon residents’ rights to free speech, privacy and their due process. The Justice Department also noted that this was being done, disproportionately, to the black residents of Baltimore. The investigation also found…

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Sen. Carper Calls on D.H.S. to Enhance Cyber Security for Voting Machines

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The ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee is holding Secretary Jeh Johnson to his word on boosting cyber security for American voting machines. In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security chief, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) urged Johnson to designate election systems in the US as “critical infrastructure.” Such a label would afford them enhanced security oversight and protections from the federal government. During a breakfast with reporters last week, Johnson stated that the department was “actively thinking about election security,”…

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For Saudis’ Brutal War in Yemen, U.S. Reports 61 Percent Increase In Refueling Missions

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The US Air Force in recent months has significantly increased its support of Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen—one that has led to atrocities that have drawn widespread international condemnation US Air Force officials reported having upped the number of refueling missions conducted in support of the Saudi-led campaign by 61 percent since February, according to The Air Force Times. “[W]e’ve flown 1,144 aerial refueling sorties totaling approximately 9,793 flying hours and providing 40,535,200 pounds of fuel to 5,525 receiving aircraft,” Air Force spokeswoman Kiley Dougherty told the paper.…

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Kerry Sit-Down with Brazilian Interim Authorities Draws Ire From Lawmakers

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Days after Secretary of State John Kerry met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra, he’s been hearing charges that the US is granting legitimacy to a rightwing coup regime. The face-to-face occurred last Friday, ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympic Games hosted in Rio De Janeiro, amid instability in Brazilian politics. Serra is an appointee of interim President Michel Temer, who took the reins of the country in May following the impeachment of the democratically-elected head of state, Dilma Rousseff. The former…

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