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August 2016 - page 4

G.O.P. “Never Trumpers” Get Their Spoiler Candidate: An Ex-Goldman Banker and Former CIA Spook

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A former congressional wonk, covert CIA agent and Goldman Sachs investment banker has emerged as an eleventh hour Republican challenger to Donald Trump. Evan McMullin announced Monday that he would run as an independent conservative candidate for President. Until revealing his campaign, he was a senior policy staffer for House Republicans. A virtually-unknown figure that has already missed his chance to even vie for an electoral college majority, McMullin, at this point, can only play the role of a spoiler. He appears intent on it.…

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Wash. Post: Clinton Promised Upstate N.Y. Jobs, Ended Up With Patrons

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A Washington Post examination of Hillary Clinton’s Senate record revealed little net employment gains for Upstate New York during her eight years in the legislature, despite initial campaign promises of mass job creation for the region. The Post also noted that while her upstate initiatives failed to stem last decade’s tide of manufacturing job losses, Sen. Clinton did eventually see those behind “pet economic projects” become patrons of the Clinton Foundation and clients on her lucrative speaking circuit. “Clinton’s self-styled role as economic promoter….showcases an…

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Korryn Gaines Blackout Signals Expansion of Law Enforcement’s Special Relationship with Facebook

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Baltimore County police did not want Korryn Gaines in contact with her Facebook audience when they served a warrant at her home last week. So they asked the company to deactivate her account. In the moments leading up to her death from police gunfire, Facebook complied. The deactivation of Gaines’ account cut her off from her only means of communicating with the public, leaving her 5 year-old son the only non-law enforcement witness to Gaines’s death. He was also wounded in the incident. It also…

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Clinton Fundraises With Frackers

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Hillary Clinton is growing cozier with the hydraulic fracturing industry, just months after she promised to heavily regulate it. The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate attended a $50,000 per place fundraiser in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday, hosted by fracking magnate Charif Souaki. The event raised $650,000 for the campaign. As the International Business Times reported, Souaki “amassed his fortune working for natural gas companies including one he founded last year, Tellurian Investments.” A subsidiary of Tellurian, Driftwood LNG, filed for a license in June with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission…

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U.S. Tax Judge Widens Scope of IRS Whistleblower Relief

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The judicial body overseeing federal tax disputes has issued a ruling that expands what whistleblowers can claim as a reward when they help the government crack down on evasion. US Tax Court on Wednesday awarded $17.8 million to undisclosed informants—likely those who helped bring about the prosecution of a now-defunct Swiss bank called Wegelin & Co, according to The Wall Street Journal. The firm shuttered in 2013 after pleading guilty to conspiring with American taxpayers to obscure their assets from the Internal Revenue Service. The…

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With Fears of Foreign Influence in U.S. Election Abound, DHS Eyes Voting Machine Vulnerabilities

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During a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson said that his department was “actively thinking about election security,” and considering granting voting systems new federal protections. Secretary Johnson’s comments, which were first reported by BuzzFeed News, suggest that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could soon classify the myriad of voting machines in use across the nation as “critical infrastructure.” DHS currently identifies 16 critical infrastructure sectors in the US that receive enhanced cybersecurity assistance from the federal government. They include…

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U.S. Government Approves First-Ever Corporate Moon Landing

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It’s one small step for a company, and one giant leap for the privatization of outer space. The Federal Aviation Administration granted approval on Wednesday to the first-ever corporate moon-landing. A company called Moon Express received permission to travel to the moon, for a mission being driven by a $30 million Google-funded prize. The go-ahead was given by the FAA after consultation with the White House, NASA, and the State Department, according to the LA Times. The launch is planned for late next year. “Only three…

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After Libya Strikes, Barbara Lee Renews Call for War Oversight

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The only lawmaker to have voted against the broad legislation that launched the War on Terror criticized its continued use on Monday, immediately after the Pentagon cited it when carrying out airstrikes in Libya against the Islamic State (ISIL). Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) expressed discomfort at the lack of congressional oversight in the global counter-ISIL campaign, noting in a statement: “The US military continues to become engaged in the Middle East, despite the lack of a Congressional debate or a specific authorization.” “I have called…

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First GOP Rep. Jumps Trump Train, Becomes Ready For Hillary

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Donald Trump received word on Tuesday of his first defector in the House, as Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) announced he would be voting for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in November. In an op-ed for the Syracuse Post Standard, Rep. Hanna called his party’s candidate for president a “national embarrassment.” He went on to say that although he disagrees with Clinton on “many issues,” he would vote for her. “I trust she can lead,” Rep. Hanna wrote of Clinton. “All Republicans may not like the…

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Weekend of our Discontent: Trump, Clinton Spar Over Dueling Controversies

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On the campaign trail Donald Trump insulted the family of a dead US soldier and Hillary Clinton repeated claims that were debunked weeks ago by none other than the Director of the FBI. The events capped off a weekend in an election characterized by sweeping discontent with the nominees of both major parties. Recent polls show growing numbers of Americans considering third party options. First it was Trump’s turn to horrify the nation, with numerous attacks, in press interviews and tweets, against the parents of Humayan Khan,…

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Conglomerates’ Attack on Net Neutrality Reaches Next Step

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Telecoms industry groups late last week launched their challenge of a major ruling that upheld President Obama’s 2015 Net Neutrality initiative. The trade organizations, led by the US Telecom Association (USTA), asked the federal appeals court in Washington to reconsider their case “en banc”–with every judge on the circuit weighing in. Federal appellate cases are litigated first before three-judge panels. In June, one of those panels ruled 2-1, in favor of Net Neutrality rules passed in Feb. 2015 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In a…

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