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Sam Knight - page 51

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

U.S. to Let In 10,000 Syrian Refugees Next Year, State Department Rejects “Paltry” Charge

The Obama administration announced Thursday that next fiscal year the US will be accepting at least 10,000 Syrian refugees. The cohort will be derived from the overall number of refugees admitted by the US in the 12 months after Oct. 1, State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said. The sum of all refugees slated to be admitted could also increase. The AP reported on Wednesday that the US will plan on accepting 75,000 refugees next fiscal year. This year, it took in about 70,000. Kirby noted that the… Keep Reading

“The New Earmarks” — Progressive Groups Warn of Right-Wing Trojan Horses as DC Hurdles Toward Another Shutdown

As pressure builds on Congress to keep the government funded this fall, progressive groups called on lawmakers and President Obama to oppose “inappropriate and ideological” proposals tacked on to must-pass legislation. The groups–which included Public Citizen, the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, and 174 others–warned in a letter sent Thursday that Republican-dominated congressional committees have already marked up budgetary legislation containing policy riders that would hinder key regulatory agencies. “These inappropriate riders are being inserted to advance the priorities of special interest… Keep Reading

Food Insecurity Falls to Post-2008 Low, But Worst Anxieties Remain

The administration touted a report which stated that food insecurity fell to its lowest point last year since the 2008 global financial crisis, but Americans’ worst nutritional woes remained unchanged. The annual Department of Agriculture survey released Wednesday found that the rate of those suffering “very low” food insecurity in 2014 held steady at 5.6 percent. The rate of those considered “food insecure” fell to 14 percent, from 14.7 percent. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that the findings of the survey show food security “is… Keep Reading

Foreign Policy Expert Lindsey Graham: Iran Responsible for War in Yemen Fueled By Saudis

Despite numerous inquiries putting the blame for the majority of ongoing civilian misery in Yemen on the shoulders of a US ally, floundering Republican Presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday said that “Iran was taking down the government of Yemen” and “set the entire Middle East on fire.” Graham cited the conflict in the Arabian Peninsula as a reason to oppose the Iranian nuclear deal during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington. “President Obama can’t get this deal,” Graham said.… Keep Reading

End of Teachers’ Strike in June Sees Discontent Index Reach Post-2008 Low Again

The District Sentinel Discontent Index fell in June by over three points to a seven-year low as the ranks of an educators’ strike in Washington State thinned. The measure fell to 103.65 from 106.79 in June, pulled down almost entirely by a decrease in the Labor Discontent subcomponent. The gauge of disquiet in the job market fell 2.82 points to 27.43, while Consumer Discontent and Housing Discontent fell by 0.21 and 0.09, respectively, to 32.10 and 44.13. In May, the Discontent Index increased by more than… Keep Reading

Pentagon Shut Syria Civilian Casualties Probes “Based On Extremely Limited Information” in 48 Hours

The Pentagon looked into dozens of reports alleging that US-led coalition bombings against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL) killed civilians and dismissed four out of five of them in two days. Some of the fatal incidents, which took place between September of last year and April of this year, were believed to have been caused by the Syrian government, according to one close observer of the bombing campaign. But its lead investigative journalist said that “numerous” others were deemed not the responsibility of… Keep Reading

Afghan Refugee Ministry Still “Not A Reliable Partner” for State Dept. Amid E.U. Crisis

The Government of Afghanistan must prove it has drastically changed before American officials enlist its help in stemming a flow of refugees that is fueling a European political crisis, according to a US government watchdog report published Thursday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said that the country’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MORR) had been so decimated by “corruption and a lack of capacity” throughout the past decade that the State Department should wait and see if it improves before “assist[ing] the new… Keep Reading

CRS: No Drone Buying Binge Because Pentagon Waiting for Private Sector

A lag between the planned increase in drone usage and the number of the aircraft that the Pentagon expects to acquire over the next few years could be explained by military officials’ deference to private sector developments, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The Aug. 27 CRS paper said that if the unmanned aerial vehicle’s past is any indication, the Department of Defense will allow contractors and corporations to take the lead on shaping its future. “DOD again appears to be waiting for industry… Keep Reading

Ex-WH Aide: Obama Took “Most Substantively Important” Pro-Labor Tack After Occupy Wall Street

A former White House communications director claimed that a key shift in the Obama administration’s approach to labor policy occurred just months after the Occupy Wall Street movement started. Dan Pfeiffer said in an article published Monday morning that a December 2011 presidential speech in Kansas can be seen as a watershed moment in the Obama era. “Perhaps the most substantively important speech of the Obama presidency was the Osawatomie speech in 2011,” Pfeiffer said, in a Times trend piece detailing a recent rash of… Keep Reading

House Ethics Committee Setting “Dangerous Precedent” By Withholding Report, Non-Profits Say

Public interest non-profits said Wednesday that the House Ethics Committee’s refusal to release Office of Congressional Ethics findings about an illicit 2013 junket to Azerbaijan set “a dangerous precedent.” Groups including Public Citizen, Demand Progress, Common Cause, and Democracy 21 said the panel has never before kept the independent body’s findings under wraps “where the Members under investigation remain within the Ethics Committee’s jurisdiction.” The organizations said in a joint letter that the committee has only twice before declined to publish OCE findings, but in… Keep Reading

FOIA Meddling By Obama Appointees Being Probed by Senate Committee

A congressional panel is investigating the possibility that Obama administration political appointees have unduly interfered with Freedom of Information Act requests. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is looking into “any involvement by non-career officials in the FOIA process” across agencies, according to a letter published this week by the Department of Defense inspector general. The probe has led committee chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to ask federal inspectors general to look into the matter. It was sparked by “media reports of specific cases at the… Keep Reading

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