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Sam Knight - page 49

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

House Judiciary Matches Senate Bill, Vows to Push Criminal Justice Reform Further

The House Judiciary Committee will this week unveil sentencing reform legislation to align the panel’s efforts with its senate counterpart, and then it will seek to advance even more criminal justice reform. The panel’s leaders said in a press release announcing the “companion legislation” that they intend to introduce more bills “over the coming weeks.” Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) said they hope to use the proposals to address: issues with prison and re-entry; problematic law enforcement strategies and procedures; over-criminalization, and… Keep Reading

Obama Was Right: Ayatollah Bans Further Talks With U.S., Finds Common Cause With G.O.P.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned further diplomatic negotiations between Tehran and Washington on Wednesday, claiming that a thaw with the US threatens the country’s theocratic system. Khamenei described US diplomacy as “[concentrated] on enmity toward the Establishment of the Islamic Iran [sic]” and said American efforts to further dialogue are “aimed at [paving the way for] infiltration.” He then took aim at the government led by President Hassan Rouhani, calling pro-diplomacy factions “simple-minded” and “carefree people…who don’t care for and pay no attention to the… Keep Reading

Trade Deficit Grows As Capitol Hill Gears Up for T.P.P. Fight

As Washington braces itself for a battle over the recently-finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Commerce Department on Tuesday reported that the US trade deficit grew by $6.5 billion to $48.3 billion in August—the sixth highest monthly sum since the start of the Great Recession. The increase in the deficit happened in spite of record low spending in the US on petroleum and a record high value of net American service exports, Commerce noted. It was buoyed by record high spending on US services in the rest… Keep Reading

TPP Finalized: GOP Hates Tobacco Carve-Out; Special Provisions Validate Dem Concerns, Senator Claims

A slew of negative reactions from key lawmakers to news that the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been finalized has raised doubts that the deal will be ratified by the United States. Among the issues at the heart of the grumbling is language that would exempt tobacco companies from TPP investor-state dispute settlement fora—a carve-out that has reportedly enraged conservatives and caused at least one Democrat to say it validates his party’s concerns about the deal writ large. “The removal of tobacco from the dispute resolution process… Keep Reading

Alabama Senator, Refugee Truther: Sessions Says Up to 75 Percent of Asylum Seekers in Europe are “Economic Migrants”

Senate judiciary immigration subcommittee chair Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said that refugees seeking asylum in Europe in record numbers aren’t actually moving there to flee war. At a hearing Thursday afternoon, Sessions accused up to 75 percent of migrants of being motivated by financial concerns. “It has also been reported that as many as three in four of those seeking entry into Europe are not refugees from Syria, but economic migrants, many from many different countries,” he said in his opening statement. While Sessions did not… Keep Reading

Post-Ferguson Grassley Evolution Complete: Judiciary Chair Announces “Biggest Criminal Justice Reform in a Generation”

Seven months ago, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) stood on the Senate floor and accused criminal justice reformers on his panel, both Republican and Democrat, of being held captive by a “leniency industrial complex.” On Thursday, those colleagues stood behind him at a press conference as he revealed support for many of their proposals in a package he called “the biggest criminal justice reform in a generation.” “It’s a product of a very thoughtful bipartisan deliberation by the Congress,” Grassley said. “There are… Keep Reading

One-in-Four House Dems Call on Obama to Talk Syria Peace Deal With Iran, Russia

More than one-quarter of the House Democratic caucus called on the White House to engage with Iran and Russia with a view of promoting multilateral talks aimed at ending the Syrian Civil War. Fifty-five representatives, led by Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), asked the Obama administration in a letter sent Tuesday to engage with its two adversaries if it wants to pragmatically find a rapid terminus to the brutal conflict. “The only real solution in Syria, a solution that should be implemented today, is for the… Keep Reading

Vitter: Financial Overseer Literally Staffed By Active Duty Wall Streeters, Must Change Before Nominees Approved

A Senate Banking Committee member vowed to block nominations to an obscure financial sector overseer, saying that it is riddled with systemic conflicts of interest that have sapped markets of confidence. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said that reforms must be passed before the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC) can proceed with business as usual, and denounced how the non-profit government-created organization has treated victims of multibillion dollar fraudster Alan Stanford. “Investors are led to believe that if a broker-dealer fails, SIPC will be there to… Keep Reading

Litigious Agribusiness Group Not Pleased with EPA Pesticide Worker Safety Update

The Environmental Protection Agency this week finalized new rules on pesticide application, updating for the first time since 1992 regulations aimed at improving farmworker safety. While workers advocates, labor unions and environmental groups cheered the move as long overdue, a review of wholly-dismissive public comments filed last year suggests agribusiness could vigorously resist and challenge the reforms. Filing remarks in opposition to the proposed rule last year were The Biopesticide Industry Alliance (BPIA)–a group that counts chemical-maker giants Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont, Syngenta among members–and the… Keep Reading

F.T.C. Sues to Stop “Gag Clauses” Affecting Free Expression, In First-of-Kind Litigation

A federal regulator this week launched a new kind of lawsuit against a company for trying to stifle online criticism from unhappy customers. On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission asked a judge to fine a weight loss product firm for allegedly deceiving consumers and ensnaring them in contracts designed to silence bad publicity. The regulator told The Sentinel it had never before invoked the “unfairness doctrine” to quash companies’ attempts to get customers to agree to non-disparagement. A spokesperson for the commission said it had concerns… Keep Reading

“Dark Money” Already Smashing Records

Donors not tied to official campaigns–many anonymously–have given far more to candidates than the amount they dished out at the same time four years ago. But despite a competitive race in both major parties this time around, a review of Federal Election Commission data conducted by The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) found primarily one faction responsible for the early surge. “The rise of single-candidate operations gives conservative organizations an edge in a presidential race marked by a large crop of Republican presidential candidates,” the non-profit… Keep Reading

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