A NEWS CO-OP IN DC SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE

Monthly archive

May 2017 - page 2

Steve Mnuchin Walks Back Administration Support of Glass-Steagall

by

President Trump isn’t interested in restoring the Glass-Steagall Act, reversing prior claims made by White House officials. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday that the administration doesn’t support the segregation of retail and investment banking—the crux of the Depression-era legislation. “We think that would have a very significant problem on [sic] the financial markets, on the economy, and on liquidity, and we think there are proper things that we could look at around regulation,” Mnuchin said. “But we do not support a separation of banks…

Keep Reading

Comey Memo Turns Up Volume on Impeachment Calls

by

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) stepped to the House floor on Wednesday and made a direct appeal to impeach President Donald Trump for his firing of FBI Director James Comey. Green’s demand comes one day after it was revealed that Trump asked Comey to drop the bureau’s probe into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn before the President fired Comey. “I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States for obstruction of justice,” Green boomed from the House chamber. “This…

Keep Reading

Chelsea Manning, Mass Educator, Freed from Prison

by

The source for some of the most explosive revelations in a generation walked free from a military prison on Wednesday morning. Army Private Chelsea Manning was released from a detention facility in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas on Wednesday, after being imprisoned since 2010. She was freed ahead of schedule after President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence in January. Manning was convicted by a military court in 2013 under the Espionage Act, for passing state secrets to Wikileaks. “After another anxious four months of waiting, the day…

Keep Reading

Amid Scandal-Plagued Week, Trump Agenda Looks In Trouble

by

A lynch pin of President Trump’s nationalist agenda looks dead on arrival in the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Trump’s proposed “border adjustment tax” stands little chance of being approved by the upper chamber. Calls for such a levy served as part of the Trump campaign’s broadsides against free trade agreements and the deindustrialization of the United States. “It probably wouldn’t pass the Senate,” McConnell told Bloomberg news on Tuesday, referring to the border tax. “The Secretary of the Treasury, and [Speaker…

Keep Reading

Trump Claims Cops are “Obstructed,” Subject to “Unfair Vilification”

by

The President of the United States issued a proclamation on Monday, dedicating the week to law enforcement officers. Although communities across the nation are agitating for police reforms in response to an endemic of lethal force use—more than 960 people were killed by officers in 2016—President Trump alleged cops deserve better treatment from society. “I will make it the personal priority of my administration to ensure that our police are finally treated fairly with honor and respect that they deserve,” Trump told a crowd assembled…

Keep Reading

SCOTUS: Okay for Debt Collectors to Hound People, Even After Statute of Limitations Expires

by

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that debt collectors can pursue payments, even if they’re fully-aware that the validity of their claim has expired. Justices ruled 5-3 that creditors can file litigation to get money owed by debtors, after the statute of limitations on the debt has passed. The decision reversed a federal appellate court order, which forbade the behavior under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The case centered around an Alabama woman, Aleida Johnson, who had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, in federal…

Keep Reading

Acting FBI Chief Shoots Down Admin’s Comey Firing Justification

by

The man temporarily leading the FBI told senators that one of the White House’s reasons for firing James Comey was “not accurate.” Andrew McCabe, the interim FBI head, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, occupying a chair that was supposed to be filled by Comey, until the former Bureau director was abruptly canned by the President on Tuesday. McCabe disputed the administration’s characterization the previous day by Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that “the rank-and-file of the FBI had lost confidence in their…

Keep Reading

Senate Dems Now Call on Rosenstein to Stand Down from Russia Probe

by

UPDATE: Rosenstein met with Senate Intelligence Committee leaders, and declined to recuse himself. Top Senate Democrats are turning up the heat on a high-ranking political appointee at the center of the James Comey firestorm. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) lashed out at Rod Rosenstein on Thursday morning. The pair called on the Deputy Attorney General to recuse himself from the investigation into both alleged Russian meddling in last year’s election and any involvement by members of the Trump…

Keep Reading

Rare Setback for the GOP Assault on Obama-Era Regulations

by

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed Democrats’ outrage over the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and promptly proceeded to business as usual in the upper chamber: repealing regulations approved by the prior administration. Only this time, the Majority Leader didn’t succeed. A motion to advance legislation that would repeal a methane emissions rule was defeated Wednesday morning in a 51-49 vote. Republicans tried to move the resolution forward under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)—a law that allows Congress to repeal recently-approved regulations by a…

Keep Reading

Feinstein: Comey Firing Very Sketchy After March Classified Briefing

by

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee protested the firing of James Comey by bringing up a classified briefing that the now-former FBI Director conducted almost two months ago. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that Comey presented “substantial information” on the bureau probe into alleged election meddling by the Russian government. The briefing, which took place on March 15, was also attended by Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “I can’t go into the specifics, but you and I know that it was…

Keep Reading

Dept. of Energy Declares “Emergency” At Nation’s Most Radioactive Site

by

A tunnel collapse at the Hanford Nuclear site forced workers to evacuate or take cover out of fear of a potential radiological release. The incident occurred Tuesday morning, prompting the Department of Energy to issue an alert to employees, the media, and residents nearby. “There are concerns about subsidence in the soil covering railroad tunnels near a former chemical processing facility,” the statement read. It later described a 20-square-foot cave-in of soil into tunnels carrying “contaminated materials.” The DOE claimed that there is “no indication…

Keep Reading

1 2 3
Go to Top