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Sam Knight - page 75

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Last Year, Prison Population Decline Trickled to a Near Halt

Last year the Obama administration announced plans to reduce the US prison population. But new stats released Friday show that it might encounter difficulties carrying out that initiative, if it is, in fact, serious about it. A Justice Department report found that the decline in the prison population, which had started in 2010, decelerated to a near halt in 2013. The annual Bureau of Justice Statistics paper, which accounts for the total number of “offenders supervised by adult correctional systems in the United States at… Keep Reading

Pentagon Again Downplays Once-terrifying Khorasan Group

Earlier this year, after the White House announced the start of military operations in Syria, the Obama Administration partially justified its actions by claiming a mysterious terrorist cell using the war-torn country for sanctuary posed an imminent threat to the US. But on Thursday, the Pentagon again downplayed the importance of the so-called Khorasan Group. Lt. Gen. James Terry, the highest ranking officer overseeing attacks on the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, said at a press briefing that the mission, “Operation Inherent Resolve,” is… Keep Reading

If Darren Wilson Shot Someone in the Woods, Would Anyone Make A Sound? Half of Forest Service Cops Say “Fear of Reprisal” For Whistleblowing

The recent spread of law enforcement-related malaise hasn’t eluded cops tasked with overseeing some of the more idyllic parts of the United States. According to details of a leaked Office of Personnel Management survey published this week, the US Forest Service police force is overseen by officials who have fostered a morale-sapping culture of fear that appears to be reinforcing itself. Almost fifty percent of Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations (LE) employees who responded to the survey complained of a “fear of reprisal” for… Keep Reading

Lawmaker Critics of Cuba Detente Fail Honduras Litmus Test

Hawkish lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are insisting that President Obama’s move to thaw relations with Havana, contra his assertions, will hinder democracy in Cuba. Among those lining up to blast the policy along those lines in the Senate are prominent Republicans John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and a stalwart from within his own caucus outgoing foreign relations committee chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). In the House, influential critics include Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.).… Keep Reading

After Cromnibus, Less Prominent Backdoor Deregulation Dies in Senate

While the Senate infamously passed one deregulatory measure sneaked into the year-end spending bill, it scuppered another. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act died in the upper chamber before the holiday recess started Tuesday . With it went down a measure that would forbid regulators from imposing “margin requirements” on “non-financial” corporations–rules, in layman’s terms, that force non-banks to put up collateral when dealing with banks. But Senate Democrats have a Republican to thank for sparing them possible blushes. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) refused to grant unanimous… Keep Reading

Leaked Trade Agreement on Services Would Undermine Regulations Around World

According to a leaked copy of a draft, the terms of trade deal on services involving the US, EU, Japan, and over two dozen other countries could make it practically impossible for governments to regulate certain foreign companies. The Trade In Services Agreement (TISA), as drafted, would forbid parties from requiring service providers “to establish or maintain a commercial presence, or to be resident in the Party’s territory,” according to the documents published Wednesday. A pair of experts privy to the agreement prior to its… Keep Reading

Top Judiciary Dem Says Process “Suspect” in First Obama Immigration Review

The highest ranking Democratic lawmaker overseeing the judicial branch described a Tuesday ruling striking down President Obama’s immigration executive order as being the result of a crooked procedure. The decision, which came from Pittsburgh-based US District Court Judge Arthur Schwab, was called into disrepute by outgoing Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Leahy said the ruling was “very unusual.” “No party in the case raised such a challenge nor were there briefings or arguments on that issue,” he said in a statement. “I strongly… Keep Reading

Senate Quietly Okays Drug War Expansion

As Senate Democrats used the extended Congressional session to pass executive nominations, the body, without fanfare on Monday, approved of legislation to expand the War on Drugs. But opponents are hoping the bill will die as quietly as it was passed. The measure has not been taken up by the House, and runs counter to the spirit of recently passed laws that relax federal restrictions on drug use. The Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2013, a bill co-authored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck… Keep Reading

Pentagon Development Arm Skips Town on Afghan Pipeline Project

A Pentagon development office left its Afghan partners without crucial assistance on a pipeline construction project that’s only about 80 percent complete, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The watchdog noted in a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that only 12 out of 15 kilometers of corroding Soviet-era pipeline was replaced before the office wound up Afghan field operations in November. The Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) has left the remaining replacement of the Sheberghan-Mazar pipeline entirely… Keep Reading

Despite NRA Opposition, Surgeon General Nominee Passes

President Obama’s pick for Surgeon General was approved by the Senate Monday night, after right-wing political theater staged before the holiday recess went awry. Vivek Murthy, a nominee who had previously been held up by Republicans for his views on gun control, was approved in a 51-43 vote split along partisan lines with some exceptions. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill) crossed the aisle to join Democrats, while Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) disapproved of Murthy. The vote never should have happened.… Keep Reading

Veterans Affairs Can’t Keep Track of Suicide Data for Prevention Program

The federal government might lack significant data on veteran suicides for a program specifically designed to mitigate the psychological damage of war, according to a watchdog report released Friday. The Government Accountability Office said that the Department of Veterans Affairs has not been verifying the accuracy of some of its medical centers’ reporting on the number of veterans who take their own lives. The investigation, which probed records from five department facilities between fiscal years 2009 and 2013, led the report’s authors to posit that the… Keep Reading

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