“The House spending bill released Wednesday would allow President Donald Trump, or people under him, to secretly shift money to fund intelligence programs, a break with 70 years of governing tradition.”
“Today’s vote means reforms to provide stronger Fourth Amendment protections from unwarranted searches will not happen and a filibuster can’t actually stop the scheduled vote. The USA RIGHTS Act is essentially dead, unless the full vote fails. (Spoiler: Since the renewal bill survived a cloture vote, it won’t fail.)”
Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2018/01/16/senate-votes-to-shut-down-rand-paul-fili
“The command has deflected questions about the killing in Mali, offered murky and shifting explanations of the attack in Niger, and cleared U.S. personnel of wrongdoing in Somalia before launching a new investigation into the killings. All of this comes as the Defense Department as a whole has become less transparent and accessible, according to numerous journalists who cover U.S. national security. At the same time, according to the Pentagon’s Inspector General, there has been a rise in complaints of misconduct by senior officials, as well as reprisals against whistleblowers.”
“He is best known for overseeing the case of Paulette Gebara, a four-year-old who was reported missing from her family’s apartment in a Mexico City suburb in 2010. Despite extensive searches and a media coverage, investigators found no trace of the girl for nine days, when her decomposing body was found in her own bed – even though the room had supposedly been sealed by police.”
“‘The United States has admitted that it has created a terrorist force along our country’s border. Our duty is to drown this army of terror before it is born,’ Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. The U.S.-led coalition declined to comment on Erdogan’s threats.”
“In just one extraordinary year, Trump has destabilized the delicate duality that has long been the foundation for U.S. foreign policy: favoring war over diplomacy, the Pentagon over the State Department, and narrow national interest over international leadership. But in a globalizing world interconnected by trade, the Internet, and the rapid proliferation of nuclear-armed missiles, walls won’t work. There can be no Fortress America.”
Read more: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176373/tomgram%3A_alfred_mccoy%2C_tweeting_while_rome_burns/
“Jorge Garcia pulled his family close for one final hug by security gates at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. His wife and 15-year-old daughter sobbed in his arms. His 12-year-old son stood stoically. Garcia was silent. Soon after, the 39-year-old landscaper from Lincoln Park, Michigan, boarded a plane bound for Mexico, deported to his home country on Monday after three decades of living, working and raising a family in the United States.”
Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/mc-nws-daca-father-too-old-deported-20180116-story.html
“Those who spread the video range in age from 15 to in their early 20s. If found guilty the young people’s punishments will range from a criminal record to having their name added to child protection registers for 10 years. The age of consent in Denmark is 15 but it is a criminal offence to distribute images of anyone aged under 18.”
“Japan’s public broadcaster sent out a false alert warning of a North Korean missile on Tuesday, just three days after Hawaii residents received an erroneous message about an incoming missile. ‘North Korea appears to have launched a missile … The government urges people to take shelter inside buildings or underground,’ the message read, according to a translation from Reuters. The false warning went out just before 7 p.m. in the evening, through broadcaster NHK’s Japanese mobile app and website.”
“DePizzo was suspended from Twitter after calling out ‘liberal media darling’ Ryan for discussing the Democrat Party in Iowa and New Hampshire, while ignore the concerns of his own district.”