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Sam Sacks - page 28

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

2001 AUMF, Gitmo Restrictions Survive as House Passes Defense Policy Bill

Last minute attempts to wind down trappings of the Bush-era Global War on Terror were thwarted Wednesday night before lawmakers in the House passed the annual defense bill. An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) put forth by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) was defeated in a 285-138 vote. Fifty-seven Democrats joined Republicans to preserve the 15-year-old consent to war. The Obama administration is currently using the law to justify its ongoing military operations… Keep Reading

Rep. Massie Says Lawmakers Need to Read Classified 28 Pages Before Voting on NDAA

One Republican lawmaker on Wednesday urged the release of a secret portion of the congressional 9/11 report, arguing that keeping it classified could “jeopardize national security.” Appearing on CSPAN’s Washington Journal, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said that he read the so-called 28 pages of the 9/11 inquiry, and claimed they could provide “recourse” to the victims of the terrorist attacks. The pages were classified by the Bush Justice Department shortly after the full report was finalized. Many who are familiar with the section, including the… Keep Reading

Split Decision for the Democrats

Tuesday night’s primaries proved once again that the Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) presidential campaign still has enormous support, despite little chance of victory. Sanders picked up a 9-point win in the Oregon primary, claiming a slim majority of the state’s pledged delegates. The Democratic frontrunner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is clinging to the narrowest of leads in Kentucky. With 99-percent counted, Clinton is up by fewer than 2,000 votes. Her campaign declared victory, although the results won’t be official until the end… Keep Reading

Federal Agencies Brace for Historic Wildfire Season, Cite Climate Change

Representatives with the US Forest Service met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday to prep for what could be another record-breaking wildfire season due to global warming. This year has already seen five times more acreage burned than at this time last year, the most aggressive wildfire season ever recorded. The Forest Service spent $2.6 billion on dousing fires alone in 2015. “We keep setting records we don’t want to see beat,” Secretary Vilsack said in a statement after the meeting. In prior years,… Keep Reading

Despite N.C. Civil Rights Lawsuit, Admin in No Rush to Repeal Anti-Transgender Rules in Military

The White House is not putting pressure on the Pentagon to hasten its scrapping of a policy that discriminates against transgender Americans who wish to serve in the military. During a press briefing with reporters on Monday, administration spokesperson Josh Earnest said the president believes the Department of Defense is proceeding forward on lifting the ban against transgender service “as conscientiously as they should.” He added that the president had no plans to bring up the issue with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter during a planned meeting… Keep Reading

Feinstein Questions if Deletion of Senate Torture Report Was More Than an “Accident”

An oversight body charged with keeping tabs on the Central Intelligence Agency reportedly deleted the only draft it had of the Senate’s sweeping review of the Bush administration’s post-9/11 torture program. The watchdog claims it was a “mistake,” according to Yahoo News, and that it is seeking a new copy. The episode, however, confirms suspicions of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the lead author of the torture report. She has said key federal agencies haven’t digested its grim findings,… Keep Reading

Lawmakers Worry About “Hair Revolution,” Thought of Trump Executive Overreach

A congressional panel dedicated to studying abuses of power by the Obama administration was inconveniently forced to look ahead at what November’s election might mean for the constitutional balance of powers. The GOP-created Task Force on Executive Overreach featured witness testimony on Thursday who alleged that President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate agreement were illegal treaties—claims that have been refuted by a number of legal scholars. The proceedings were derailed early on, however, by Donald Trump. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was on Capitol… Keep Reading

Not Much Love for Postal Banking at Hearing on USPS Reform

Lawmakers on Wednesday examined ways to put the United States Postal Service (USPS) back on a sustainable financial path, after it lost nearly $60 billion over the previous decade. Barely mentioned during the proceedings before the House Oversight Committee, however, was one populist proposal that could not only rescue the post office, but put Wall Street in check: postal banking. The policy would allow the USPS to offer checking account and bill paying services to communities underserved by the financial sector. Post office branches offered… Keep Reading

West Virginia Propels Sanders to Another Victory

With a nearly insurmountable lead in the delegate race, and the nomination within her grasps, Hillary Clinton still can’t put away her Democratic rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The democratic socialist defeated the former Secretary of State on Tuesday, 51-36 percent in West Virginia. He picked up a slim majority of the state’s 29 pledged delegates. Clinton, however, still maintains a 286 delegate edge in the race—a lead that Sanders was unbothered by when addressing supporters late Tuesday night. “Let me be as clear as… Keep Reading

Spy Hawks Defend FISA From Backdoor Search Warrant Requirement

The thrust of possible future surveillance reform was outlined during a Senate hearing focused on the expiration of a law permitting the NSA’s most controversial activities. Although Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act is still valid until the end of 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday got off to an early start weighing its renewal. It was the body’s first public hearing on reauthorizing the statute since 2013, when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed how US spies use… Keep Reading

Twitter Tells U.S. Spies to Do Their Own Data Analysis From Now On

A firm granted special access to Twitter’s universe of data was instructed by the social media company to stop sharing information with US intelligence agencies, according to a report published over the weekend by the Wall Street Journal. The move effectively cuts off domestic spy outfits from data analysis conducted by the private firm Dataminr. The company sifts through countless tweets for breaking news, patterns, and other useful information on behalf of both private sector and government clients. In a statement to the WSJ, Twitter… Keep Reading

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