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

Tag archive

newswire - page 70

As Race Tightens, Bernie Wins MoveOn Endorsement In A Landslide

by

One of the largest liberal groups in the country endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president on Tuesday, after announcing that the democratic socialist garnered the support of nearly 80 percent of its membership. MoveOn.org, which boasts a membership of 8 million, described the results of their internal democratic process that led to the endorsement as “overwhelming.” Sanders collected a “record-setting” 78.6 percent of the 340,000 votes cast by the group’s rank-and-file. The organization reported the win was “the largest total and widest margin in…

Keep Reading

Gitmo Detainee Transferred to Saudi Arabia

by

The Pentagon announced Monday that it released a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay into Saudi Arabian custody, bringing the total number of individuals left at the military prison camp to 103. The transfer of Muhammed Abd Al Rahman Awn Al-Shamrani, who was sent to Guantanamo in 2002, was cleared by the president’s Periodic Review Board in September 2015. The panel determined that the ongoing detention of the Saudi national “does not remain necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States.”…

Keep Reading

Report Details Nearly Two Decades of State Department Transparency Woes

by

The Office of Secretary of State going back to Bill Clinton’s presidency is routinely failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act, according to a department inspector general report published Thursday. The staff charged with responding to FOIA inquiries about America’s top envoy has routinely conducted insufficient searches and failed to respond to requests within the 20-day time limit established by the law. The inspector general noted the Department’s Executive Secretariat (S/ES) “took four and one-half times as long” as the average federal government…

Keep Reading

Pentagon Proposes Expanding Global U.S. Footprint in ISIL Fight

by

Defense Department officials are lobbying the White House to build or expand a series of military bases in the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia in order to create an “enduring” counter-Islamic State (ISIL) presence. The proposal is aimed at specifically boosting intelligence and attack capabilities against ISIL, according to a report by the New York Times. Although the White House refused to comment on the scheme, Pentagon officials described it to The Times as including central “hubs,” housing each between 500 and 5,000 US…

Keep Reading

Feinstein Reacts to San Bernardino By Reintroducing “Broad” Social Media Informant Bill

by

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) is planning this week on reintroducing legislation that would compel social media companies to inform federal officials of “terrorists” using their services. Feinstein told reporters that she felt the move was necessary in the wake of the Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino, Calif. “This is the largest attack since 9/11,” she told The San Francisco Chronicle late last week. “We are in a different age.” “I’m all for freedom of speech, but it doesn’t mean encouraging terrorism,” she also remarked.…

Keep Reading

Senator Markey Launches Inquiry Into Airliners’ Hacking Countermeasures

by

More than a dozen domestic air carriers and airplane manufactures are being asked to account for their cybersecurity defenses following warnings from a government watchdog that new on-flight technology could be exploited by hackers. In letters sent to aviation companies Wednesday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sought information on: in-flight Wi-Fi services; the vetting of tech vendors; safeguards for critical flight systems, and general protection of customers’ data. “As technology rapidly continues to advance, we must all work to ensure that the airline industry remains vigilant…

Keep Reading

Attorney General Called On To Investigate Chicago Police Killing Cover-up

by

The Attorney General of Illinois asked the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the Chicago Police Department, stating that public trust has been broken following the killing of teenager Laquan McDonald by a CPD officer. In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Tuesday, Illinois AG Lisa Madigan asked the DOJ Civil Rights Division to probe Chicago law enforcement for systemic legal and Constitutional violations. She wanted the inquiry focused on the police department’s use of deadly force guidelines, the reliability of its internal investigations, and…

Keep Reading

White House Rejects Gitmo Closure Plan, Sends Pentagon Back to Drawing Board

by

A $600 million plan by the Pentagon to close the military prison at Guantanamo and relocate detainees to a new facility in the United States was rejected by the White House because the price tag was too high. Relaying information from administration officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday evening that President Obama sent the closure strategy back to the Defense Department during a meeting with Secretary Ashton Carter last month. Obama asked officials to find a way to lower the cost of the plan,…

Keep Reading

A “Successful” U.N. Climate Deal Must Be “Legally Binding,” Obama Says

by

At the onset of two-weeks of climate negotiations with world leaders, President Obama suggested that he is seeking an agreement to curb global warming that includes enforceable components, raising the stakes of both the diplomatic talks abroad and the ongoing climate change debate stateside. Speaking to reporters in Paris on Tuesday, Obama described what a “successful” deal would look like, saying that it should include “an ambitious target that seeks a low carbon global economy over the course of this century.” “That means that countries have…

Keep Reading

White House Promises To Kill Syrian Refugee Roadblock Bill

by

The White House said it would veto a bill the House is expected to approve on Thursday that would effectively sink President Obama’s goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees next year. A reaction to the Nov. 13 Paris terrorists attacks, the bill would subject those fleeing the Syrian Civil War to additional layers of screening–a move that could grind the refugee program to screeching halt. “This legislation would introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people…

Keep Reading

Five Prisoners Transferred Out Of Guantanamo

by

The Pentagon announced over the weekend the release of several detainees from Guantanamo Bay, bringing the population at the notorious prison camp down to 107. According to a Department of Defense press release on Sunday, five individuals were transferred to the custody of the United Arab Emirates after each had been cleared for release by an interagency government review board. The ongoing detention of Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-Razihi, Khalid Abd-al-Jabbar Muhammad Uthman al-Qadasi, Adil Said al-Hajj Ubayd al-Busays, Sulayman Awad Bin Uqayl al-Nahdi, and Fahmi…

Keep Reading

1 … 68 69 70 71 72 73
Go to Top