August 11, 2016

A report issued on Thursday by a Republican congressional task force confirmed that military leaders doctored intelligence analyses in order to paint a rosier picture of the war on the Islamic State (ISIL). The investigation confirms Daily Beast reporting first published last year on the integrity of those intelligence reports, which originated from US Central Command (CENTCOM)—the arm of the Pentagon that oversees operations in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), one of the task force’s members, noted that…

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A review of for-profit prisons by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General has concluded that the facilities are prone to more problems than their government-run counterparts. Examining several categories, including instances of contraband, lockdowns, and inmate discipline, the watchdog determined that private prisons ”incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP [Bureau of Prisons] institutions.” The report also knocked BOP officials for not conducting adequate oversight of for-profit facilities, noting that in just the last few years, “disturbances in several federal contract prisons…

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The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) informed the public on Thursday that it would not be removing marijuana from its most dangerous classification of narcotics. The agency had been considering rescheduling the substance, after significant pressure from Capitol Hill. Its current listing as a “Schedule I” means the DEA considers cannabis among the most dangerous drugs in existence–substances with little to no medicinal value, like heroin and ecstasy. The DEA, however, did make a slight tweak in its regulations that will allow more institutions to conduct medical…

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