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Sam Knight - page 60

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Washington Post: Anger Over “Killing Muslims” Saw Drones Kicked Out of Only Permanent U.S. Base in Africa

Pentagon officials in 2013 moved drone operations out of a joint civilian-military installation in Djibouti after encountering resistance from local air traffic controllers who denounced the US “killing Muslims,” a Washington Post report revealed on Thursday. Civilian air traffic controllers even attempted to ban the top-secret unmanned aircraft from taking off or landing at Camp Lemonnier—an increasingly important US military facility built within Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport—but those orders “lasted no longer than a week,” The Post also noted. Craig Whitlock, the veteran national security reporter who… Keep Reading

FDIC “Problem List” Shows Lingering Woes In Banking Industry

Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo warned Thursday that a key regulator’s gauge of banking industry soundness shows systemic woes still well above normal levels, almost seven years after last decade’s spectacular global financial collapse. Tarullo noted that the number of banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s “Problem List” was “still nearly three times the historical average” at the end of 2014, though the list has diminished to 291 entries from a post-collapse peak of 888 at the start of 2011. The high-ranking Fed official made the… Keep Reading

Sheila Jackson-Lee: Human Rights Law Weighing Down Nigeria Assistance in Boko Haram Fight

A Democratic Congresswoman said Wednesday that a key piece of human rights legislation is impeding the US-backed Nigerian government’s fight against the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), said that a landmark law authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), is constraining the sharing of intelligence between US Africa Command and the Nigerian military. “What I would say to my colleagues, the very eager aspect of the Africa Command, that is not the civilian part, but the Africa Command wants to utilize its… Keep Reading

Amid Obama Push for T.P.P., Report Shows Trade Hindering Growth In Four of Last Five Quarters

The continued imbalance between imports and exports pushed down Gross Domestic Product growth by 1.25 percentage points in the first quarter, according to data released Wednesday morning at an awkward time for a President seeking to advance a sweeping trade agenda. The economy grew well below most expectations, at a 0.2 percent annualized rate in the first three months of this year, according to the estimate, with the Bureau of Economic Analysis report indicating that the trade deficit is partially to blame for the disappointment. Trade has… Keep Reading

Republican Senator: Pay Off Local Governments Reluctant to Deport Undocumented Residents

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called on Washington to pay local governments anxious about cooperating with federal immigration officials, in what would be a move designed to use cash to sway their opinions on deportation. The junior republican senator issued the appeal at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing while rattling off a long list of right wing complaints about the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama. “Sanctuary cities continue unabated. They don’t even honor your detainers,” he told DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, referring to requests… Keep Reading

D.H.S. Distances Self From Cruz Policy Blasted By Civil Rights Lawyers; Similar Measure Advanced In House Last Week

The Department of Homeland Security distanced itself again on Tuesday from a Republican proposal that critics have described as opening the door to civil rights abuses. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that legislation he drafted, which would strip citizenship from American nationals fighting for US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, was not “the most effective tool” for officials conducting counterterrorism operations. Johnson made the remarks in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cruz suggested that Secretary of State John Kerry should be lobbying… Keep Reading

Report: Obama Could Force Largest Corporations to Reveal Influence Peddling Through Executive Order on Contractors

If the White House were to flex its muscle and force federal government contractors to reveal their political spending, 70 percent of the largest companies in the United States would be affected, according to a non-profit research group that has long called on President Obama to force such a chain of events. Seven in 10 Fortune 100 companies over the last year have won contracts from Uncle Sam worth at least $100,000, according to Public Citizen. And if they were forced to disclose what sort of… Keep Reading

Congressional Inside Traders Harder To Catch After S.T.O.C.K. Act Bust-Up, Grassley Says

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Monday that financial sector agents seeking to profit off of inside tips about legislation are harder to detect now than when Congressional leaders killed a high-profile push to shed light on their activities three years ago. Grassley said that although he still supports the move to subject so-called political intelligence operatives to routine disclosure requirements, the oversight might not be enough to quash a cottage industry that, until 2012, was casually thriving off of insider trading.… Keep Reading

In Flurry of Trade Mark-Up Drama, Congress Seeks to Force Non-Violent Movement to Register Beliefs With S.E.C.

The Senate Committee on Finance declined this week to make equal pay between between men and women a trade negotiating priority for the administration at the same time that it moved to force foreign companies supporting a non-violent human rights campaign to register their position with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The moves came Wednesday night amid a frenzy of activity in the committee, as critics and supporters of the administration’s trade agenda pinned wish-list items to the must-pass “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority—a bill required… Keep Reading

Justice Dept.: F.B.I. Can Gag Whistleblowers Who Want Discussions With Congress

The Department of Justice confirmed this month that it currently believes it can seek, in certain instances, to gag officials who want to discuss problems plaguing the FBI with legislative oversight bodies. Responding to questions from Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) about an April 2014 DOJ “sanctions proposal [that] could be used to thwart Congressional oversight of whistleblower cases,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates said, in testimony for the written record, that the agency can seek “protective orders” prohibiting conversations between whistleblowers… Keep Reading

House Passes Lower Budget for C.F.P.B. In Vote Called “Trojan Horse,” Collision Course With White House Set

Tweaks to laws governing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau passed the House of Representatives by a vote divided almost strictly along party lines on Wednesday afternoon, though the margin of approval was not wide enough to override the veto President Obama vowed in response. The CFPB Advisory Boards Act, which passed 235-183, would establish an advisory council for non-bank businesses, and additional advisory councils for credit unions and community banks within the Dodd-Frank institution. More contentious, however, was an amendment attached to the legislation by… Keep Reading

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