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White House Bid To Protect Undocumented Families Suffers Setback In Courts

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Immigrant families living in the United States were put at increased risk of break-up Monday after a federal appeals court blocked President Obama’s executive order deferring the deportation of millions of undocumented individuals. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a lower court’s decision that prohibited the administration from implementing the order, ruling that it was an unconstitutional power grab. The lawsuit was brought by 26 Republican state Attorneys General, led by Texas AG Ken Paxton. “The president must follow the rule of…

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Defying White House Veto, Congress Maintains Guantanamo Restrictions In NDAA

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An effort to continue preventing the Obama administration from relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States has remained in the latest iteration of the annual defense policy bill finalized this week. House Republican Leadership announced Tuesday that the chamber will seek to pass the restrictions. They had been cited last month by the President as a problematic aspect of the must-pass bill when he vetoed it. The primary change in the latest National Defense Authorization Act is less money for the Department of Defense. The…

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Sacked Contractor Worker to Test Temporary Whistleblower Safeguards

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A former US Forest Service (USFS) contractor employee asked a federal appeals judge to review his rejected whistleblower complaint, citing temporary legal protections granted to federal contract workers. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said on Monday that it filed the litigation on behalf of Terry Schaedig, who alleged he was terminated for reporting “gross mismanagement” of federal lands by his boss. In a US Department of Agriculture whistleblower retaliation complaint lodged in 2014 by Schaedig, he claimed to have earned the ire of superiors…

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Bernie First Candidate To Call For Removing Marijuana From D.E.A. Schedules

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Vermont Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders put forward a policy Wednesday to take marijuana off the Drug Enforcement Administration’s schedule of controlled substances—a move that would prohibit federal authorities from cracking down on pot users and suppliers, and pave the way for states to regulate the substance like alcohol or tobacco. While other candidates in the race, including Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, have called for marijuana to be reclassified from its current status as a schedule 1 drug—the most dangerous according to the…

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More Evidence “Ferguson Effect” Is Pseudo-Science: Fear of Crime at New Low

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Someone forgot to tell the public about the “Ferguson Effect.” Despite high-profile accusations in Washington that increased nationwide scrutiny of police officers has led to a crime wave, Americans are reporting feeling safe at record levels. The results of a Gallup poll published on Thursday showed the lowest percentage of respondents in fifteen years fearing three types of break-ins. The number of survey participants fearing muggings in 2015 also dropped by five points to 25 percent; a ten-year low. “Worry about each of these crimes…

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CFPB Secures $530 Million Judgment Against Bankrupt Fraudulent For-Profit College

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the end of litigation against Corinthian Colleges, Inc. after a federal court penalized the corporate educator for luring students into taking out expensive loans with false job placement guarantees. Judge Gary Feinerman ordered Corinthian on Tuesday to pay more than $530 million into a fund administered by the CFPB to aid students affected by the college’s fraudulent practices. CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement Wednesday that the school “severely harmed tens of thousands of students, turning dreams…

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Pentagon Watchdog Commences Inquiry Into Military’s Handling of Child Sexual Abuse By Afghan Allies

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In response to media reports that US soldiers were instructed to ignore acts of sexual abuse by Afghan soldiers and officials, the Pentagon’s Inspector General disclosed that his office opened its own probe into the matter. In a Defense Department memorandum released Tuesday, Deputy Inspector General Kenneth Moorefield highlighted five areas that investigators will focus on, including an effort to ascertain whether the department had any guidance, “informal or otherwise,” that would have discouraged soldiers from reporting abuse. The New York Times reported in September than an “American…

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Department of Education to Expand Forgiving Student Loan Repayment Program

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A Department of Education often panned for its stance on education debt announced new rules designed to protect student borrowers. The department announced Tuesday that in December it will expand eligibility by 5 million to its most forgiving repayment plan. It also said that at the start of the next academic year, it will restrict colleges’ use of fee-riddled debit cards to discharge loan disbursements. “Schools outsource the processing of that money to banks and other financial firms in exchange for millions of dollars in…

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The Tax Man Has His Own “Stingray”

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Controversial cell phone surveillance technology has been found in the possession of another government agency not previously known to have it: the Internal Revenue Service. A week after federal law enforcement officials with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security testified on Capitol Hill about new regulations intended to bring more legal oversight and transparency over law enforcement officers’ use of cell site simulators, also known as “stingrays,” a new report revealed the Treasury Department also has the technology in its employ. Invoices obtained by The…

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N.R.A. Still Viewed Positively By Public That Also Disapproves of Its Extremism

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Americans view the National Rifle Association more positively now than after the Sandy Hook Massacre, according to the results of a Gallup poll released Thursday. The NRA received a 58 percent “favorable” rating from survey respondents, up from 54 percent in late December 2012. The results of the poll may be somewhat dispiriting to gun control advocates. “In a year plagued with mass shootings, including a recent tragedy at a community college in Oregon, there has been a national debate as to whether the NRA, with…

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U.S. Taxpayers Picking Up Tab for States That Cut Workers Compensation Programs

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The US Government is picking up the tab for state governments that have downsized programs to help workers injured on the job, according to a study published Wednesday. More than one-fifth of the rise in the percentage of workers who received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in the past 25 years can be explained by cuts to state worker compensations programs, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) found in the report. “As a result of tighter state eligibility requirements, workers who might have…

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