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Signs of Chill: Trump White House Puts Iran “On Notice”

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Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn condemned Iran on Wednesday, in a drastic escalation of rhetoric. “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” Flynn told reporters at the top of a daily White House press briefing, prying up diplomatic tracks to Tehran laid by the Obama administration. Flynn claimed that an Iranian missile test earlier this week breached a 2015 UN Security Council resolution and represented “destabilizing behavior.” He also referenced recent attacks in Yemen by Houthi rebels, alleged to be supported…

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Impending Trump Dakota Access Easement is Illegal, Standing Rock Sioux Say

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The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said that it is “ready to fight” the Trump administration’s push to finish the Dakota Access Pipeline, after US Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced that plans are moving forward. Hoeven said Tuesday evening that Acting Army Secretary Robert Speer has directed the Army Corps of Engineers “to proceed with easement needed to complete” the oil pipeline. Officials from Standing Rock responded, claiming any such move would be illegal, with an internal review of the project underway. “The Army Corps lacks…

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State Dept. Employees Dissent Over Trump Muslim Ban Amid “Constitutional Crisis”

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An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last Friday that has sparked protests around the country has now created unrest within the US State Department. Career Foreign Service officers at the department submitted a memo through an official channel raising their objections to the administration’s decision to ban travelers, including refugees, from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. “This ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold,” the diplomats…

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Latest Data Shows Union Numbers, Membership Rate Fell During Obama Years

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Annual statistics released Thursday by the Department of Labor show that the national rate of union membership dropped by 1.6 percentage points over the course of the Obama presidency. The percentage of US workers belonging to unions was 10.7 in 2016, down from 11.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. Union membership rate either dropped or remained stagnant every year under President Obama, eroding from 12.3 percent in 2009. The absolute quantity of union members, too, was down under President Obama. In 2009, there were 15.3…

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Trump Takes Fox News Lead to Attack Chelsea Manning

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In what is quickly becoming a ritual of his presidency, Trump unleashed a Twitter rant on Thursday morning—this one aimed at Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, calling her a “traitor.” The timing of the President’s tweets corresponded with a segment that aired on Fox News minutes earlier, which was also heavily critical of Manning. “Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible!” Trump tweeted shortly after 6am. As CNN’s Brian Stelter reported, Trump’s message…

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Senate Setback for Move to Give FBI More Warrantless Spying Powers

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Congress is backing off from a push to grant the Federal Bureau of Investigations more warrantless surveillance powers. Lawmakers had been attempting to use the annual intelligence policy bill to allow the FBI to obtain more sensitive digital information from Americans, using only a subpoena. That effort, however, has been abandoned, this year, according to a recently published Senate Intelligence Committee report on the legislation. “This expansion of government surveillance authorities was both far-reaching and intrusive, potentially covering records related to Americans’ email exchanges as well…

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Trump Pick to Oversee White House Veto Threats Once Called Social Security and Medicaid “Unconstitutional”

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President Donald Trump’s choice to be a top budget adviser once voted as a state senator to declare Social Security and Medicaid unconstitutional. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) backed the failed amendment in 2009, casting Trump’s promises to never cut the two programs into serious disrepute. Mulvaney was named by Trump to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, an arm of the White House that churns out reports and declarations about policy. OMB is the arm of the Executive Branch that issues Presidential veto…

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Wyden, Feinstein Issue Parting Shot to Brennan Over Torture Accountability Claims

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CIA Director John Brennan is just days away from being relieved of his post, but on his way out the door, two key Democratic Senators are reminding him they’re still skeptical of what he has told Congress. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ron Wyden (R-Ore.) sent a letter to Brennan on Wednesday, asking him to follow-up on testimony he gave before the Intelligence Committee last June about holding individuals within the agency accountable for torture. “We request that you correct or clarify your public testimony…

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HHS Nominee Tom Price Struggles to Account for Questionable Stock Purchases

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President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services came out of a confirmation hearing on Wednesday battered by questions about his financial dealings. Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee picked up on critical reporting showing that HHS nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) purchased stock in healthcare companies while simultaneously pushing legislation to benefit those same firms. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash), the ranking Democrat on the panel, specifically pressed Price about his investments in a biotech company…

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Trump E.P.A. Pick Won’t Rule Out Deciding on Anti-Regulation Lawsuits He Helped File

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Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused to commit to withdrawing from ongoing lawsuits against the EPA that he himself helped file as Oklahoma Attorney General. Scott Pruitt said Wednesday he would decide to withdraw from agency matters, only after consulting EPA ethics officials. Pruitt also recognized that the added layer of bureaucracy was unnecessary, when deciding that conflicts of interest require his withdrawal from agency matters. “Clearly, there is discretion to recuse,” he told Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), during his confirmation hearing…

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Trump, Nominees Remain Under Scrutiny of Government Ethics Watchdogs

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The Trump transition team is now in open-war against a federal ethics office as questions of impropriety continue to loom over the President-elect and his nominees. Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus warned Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Schaub on Sunday to “be careful” about raising concerns over the many conflicts-of-interest attached to the incoming President of the United States. In a notice last Friday to all executive branch employees, but subtly directed at the President-elect, Schaub had reminded the workforce about rules against…

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