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Sam Sacks - page 22

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

Finalized Rule Makes It Harder For Labor Violators to do Business With U.S. Government

Companies seeking to do business with the federal government will now have to verify their workplace safety track record, according to new regulations finalized on Wednesday. The rule could block firms that flout labor regulations from securing lucrative government contracts in the future. Under the new regulations, businesses working to procure contracts over $500,000 will have to inform the government of any labor violations they have incurred over the previous three years. Those include any non-compliance of the department’s 14 basic workplace protections, such as… Keep Reading

NSA Employed Bulk Collection at Belgian Funeral

According to Belgian intelligence officials, a spy operation conducted by the National Security Agency at a funeral of a suicide bomber led to the capture of a fugitive from last year’s Paris attacks. BuzzFeed News reported over the weekend that the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the lone terrorist survivor of the Paris assault that killed 130 people last year, was facilitated by signals intelligence collected by the US spy agency on funeral-goers. Abdeslam was nabbed by authorities in March, days after the NSA gathered cellular… Keep Reading

Defective Helmets Produced for U.S. Military by Prison Laborers Paid Less Than $2/Hour

A controversial government corporation that relies on cheap prison labor was caught producing faulty military equipment that could have endangered the lives of US soldiers. The Department of Justice Inspector General released a damning report on Wednesday, which found that military contractor ArmorSource and it’s subcontractor, Federal Prison Industries, produced tens of thousands of flawed combat helmets that cost the US government more than $19 million. Federal Prison Industries (FPI), also known as UNICOR, is a government-run enterprise that relies on a labor force of roughly… Keep Reading

Manafort’s Shady Dealings in Ukraine Link Back to Clinton Orbit

While working for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Paul Manafort helped transfer more than a million dollars to a high-powered DC lobbying firm led by the brother of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. The payments began in 2012, according to the Associated Press, while Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates were advising the Ukrainian ruling party. The pair were reportedly involved in the deal, which saw more than $2 million funneled into the coffers of Washington lobbying firms to advance Ukrainian interests in the US.… Keep Reading

Trump Campaign Blames “Scammers” After Being Busted (Again) For Soliciting Foreign Donations

An Australian Member of Parliament is still receiving messages from the Donald Trump presidential campaign asking for money, more than a month after the illegal solicitations were first reported to the Department of Justice and the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). MP Terri Butler informed The Hill that she received a Trump fundraising email on August 14. It was the latest in a series of automated fundraising messages from the GOP nominee’s campaign that Butler and other foreign lawmakers have received, dating back to June. It… Keep Reading

Sailor Who Photographed Nuclear Sub Cites Clinton Precedent in Bid to Avoid Jail Time

Lawyers representing a Navy shipman convicted of mishandling government secrets reminded a federal judge last week of the leniency recently afforded to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, arguing that their client should receive similar considerations. Kristian Saucier could face more than six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of unauthorized collection of defense secrets. He was found to be in possession of six photos depicting classified compartments of a US nuclear submarine that he once served aboard. The six images, Saucier’s lawyers… Keep Reading

DOJ: Private Prisons More Violent, Less Secure

A review of for-profit prisons by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General has concluded that the facilities are prone to more problems than their government-run counterparts. Examining several categories, including instances of contraband, lockdowns, and inmate discipline, the watchdog determined that private prisons ”incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP [Bureau of Prisons] institutions.” The report also knocked BOP officials for not conducting adequate oversight of for-profit facilities, noting that in just the last few years, “disturbances in several federal contract prisons… Keep Reading

Feds Resist Calls to Reclassify Marijuana: It’s Still On Par With Heroin

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) informed the public on Thursday that it would not be removing marijuana from its most dangerous classification of narcotics. The agency had been considering rescheduling the substance, after significant pressure from Capitol Hill. Its current listing as a “Schedule I” means the DEA considers cannabis among the most dangerous drugs in existence–substances with little to no medicinal value, like heroin and ecstasy. The DEA, however, did make a slight tweak in its regulations that will allow more institutions to conduct medical… Keep Reading

Sen. Carper Calls on D.H.S. to Enhance Cyber Security for Voting Machines

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee is holding Secretary Jeh Johnson to his word on boosting cyber security for American voting machines. In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security chief, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) urged Johnson to designate election systems in the US as “critical infrastructure.” Such a label would afford them enhanced security oversight and protections from the federal government. During a breakfast with reporters last week, Johnson stated that the department was “actively thinking about election security,”… Keep Reading

Kerry Sit-Down with Brazilian Interim Authorities Draws Ire From Lawmakers

Days after Secretary of State John Kerry met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra, he’s been hearing charges that the US is granting legitimacy to a rightwing coup regime. The face-to-face occurred last Friday, ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympic Games hosted in Rio De Janeiro, amid instability in Brazilian politics. Serra is an appointee of interim President Michel Temer, who took the reins of the country in May following the impeachment of the democratically-elected head of state, Dilma Rousseff. The former… Keep Reading

Clinton Fundraises With Frackers

Hillary Clinton is growing cozier with the hydraulic fracturing industry, just months after she promised to heavily regulate it. The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate attended a $50,000 per place fundraiser in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday, hosted by fracking magnate Charif Souaki. The event raised $650,000 for the campaign. As the International Business Times reported, Souaki “amassed his fortune working for natural gas companies including one he founded last year, Tellurian Investments.” A subsidiary of Tellurian, Driftwood LNG, filed for a license in June with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission… Keep Reading

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