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

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Sam Sacks - page 19

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

Podesta Inquired With W.H. About a Don Siegelman Pardon

Released emails show that Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta acted as a middleman between advocates seeking to free former Gov. Don Siegelman, and the White House. The Democratic Governor of Alabama from 1999 until 2003, Siegelman was convicted in 2006 on bribery charges stemming from an appointment to a statewide hospital oversight board that he gave to a former hospital CEO who had donated to a state lottery campaign supported by the Governor. Advocates for Siegelman claim, however, that he was convicted of something that is… Keep Reading

China Warns Trump on Trashing Climate Plan

Donald Trump’s campaign stump speech routinely name-checks China as a foreign bogeyman that’s stealing American jobs and wealth. On Tuesday, the East Asian power slightly jabbed back at the GOP nominee. According to Reuters, China’s top climate change negotiator criticized Trump’s pledge to shred the Paris Agreement—a pact was approved by more than 190 nations last year in an effort to reduce rising global temperatures. “I believe a wise political leader should take policy stances that conform with global trends,” Xie Zhenhua told reporters, responding to… Keep Reading

SIGAR: Billions Spent on Road Building in Afghanistan, Little to Show For It

The US has invested nearly $3 billion in improving roadways in Afghanistan since 2002, and yet the country’s transportation infrastructure remains in shambles, according to a new watchdog report. Together, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have spent $2.8 billion repairing Afghan roadways that have deteriorated due to poor weather, lack of maintenance, and insurgency activities amid the US invasion. The findings were made by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko, and released over the weekend… Keep Reading

2016 Not So Different, After All: Obamacare Woes Hit Campaign Trail

Two weeks before election day, the Obama administration confirmed that insurance premiums are set to increase by double-digits next year, despite the President’s signature healthcare reform law. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported Monday that in 39 states where the government has set up Affordable Care Act exchanges, the average cost of purchasing the benchmark health insurance policy will rise by 25 percent next year. “It’s over for Obamacare,” Donald Trump said on the campaign trail Monday night, striking a tune that Republican… Keep Reading

Pressure Builds on U.S. Spies to Release Yahoo Email Scan Order

Yahoo is calling on the intelligence community to make public a secret court order that required the internet giant to scan all incoming emails to their users’ inboxes. The surveillance program was first reported in August by Reuters. Yahoo claimed the report was misleading, but didn’t offer any details to refute it. Now, in a letter this week to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Yahoo General Counsel Ron Bell is calling on the secret surveillance order to be released to the public to allow the… Keep Reading

Another Former Obama General Pleads Guilty to Lying to Feds in Leak Case

The Department of Justice announced Monday that retired Gen. General James E. Cartwright pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI, while trying to obscure his role in passing along top secret information to journalists. As the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Cartwright occupied an influential seat in the Obama administration until he stepped aside to join the private sector in 2011. “General Cartwright violated the trust that was placed in him by willfully providing information that could endanger national security to… Keep Reading

Nursing Home Pharmacy Giant to Cough Up $28 Million Over Drug Kickbacks

After it was caught accepting direct payments, lavish vacations, and sports tickets from a drug company seeking to improperly boost profits, Omnicare Inc. has agreed to a settlement with the US Department of Justice. The nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy will pay $28 million for its role in a massive kickback scheme perpetrated by drug manufacturer Abbott Laboratories dating back six years. “Omnicare solicited and received kickbacks from Abbott in exchange for recommending that physicians prescribe Depakote, an anti-epileptic drug manufactured by Abbott, to elderly nursing home… Keep Reading

GAO: Cyber Hacking Anxiety Could Reverse USPS Woes

A government watchdog analyzed how the internet is reducing Americans’ reliance on the US Post Office, and suggested that the downward trend of paper mail delivery may only be temporary. Postal experts interviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) claimed that continued “electronic diversion” in mail delivery is likely to be short-lived, as more people get burned in cyberspace. “Internet privacy and security concerns could be contributing to a slowed rate of electronic diversion,” four of the officials interviewed by GAO stated. The oversight agency… Keep Reading

Clinton’s “Instinct” is to Side with Law Enforcement on Encryption & Surveillance, Campaign Chair Said

Throughout the campaign, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has shied away from the heated debate between the government and tech companies over access to encrypted devices. An email, however, from her campaign chair, John Podesta, released by WikiLeaks, does offer a glimpse into how a President Clinton might approach the issue. “Her instincts are to buy some of the law enforcement arguments on crypto and Snowden type issues,” Podesta wrote in a message from November 20, 2015. Podesta’s email was in response to Democratic lobbyist… Keep Reading

Amid Trump’s Tailspin, Lawmakers Briefed on Nominee Withdraw Scenario

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a conspicuously timed report last week, informing lawmakers on what would happen if a major presidential nominee left the ticket ahead of the November election. CRS briefings are often requested by Members of Congress and their staff. That suggests that Trump’s electoral implosion in recent days has some lawmakers curious about what would happen if the real estate mogul is removed from the ticket or steps down before November 8. “Although it might be assumed that the vice presidential… Keep Reading

G.A.O. Releases Numbers on Pentagon’s P.R. Machine

The US government has spent, on average, one billion dollars a year over the last decade on public relations, with the Department of Defense accounting for more than half of that advertising expenditure, according to a federal watchdog. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that agencies dished out more than $900 million last year on PR and advertising—a slight increase from 2014, but below the $1.3 billion spent on outreach in 2009. A main driver of PR spending, the GAO found, is the Pentagon, which averaged… Keep Reading

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