Tag Archives: feds

The Center for Public Integrity reports: Federal Election Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen announced his resignation today. This means the agency that enforces and regulates the nation’s campaign finance laws will effectively shut down — something that hasn’t happened since 2008 — because it won’t have the legal minimum of four commissioners to make high-level decisions. Petersen’s resignation, first reported …

The International Monetary Fund reports: A curious thing recently happened in US currency: in 2017 the $100 bill overtook the ubiquitous $1 bill in circulation volume, for the first time in history. In other words, the most valuable US banknote became the most widely circulated. (The $20 bill is in third place.) According to the Federal Reserve, there are more …

The Associated Press report: Federal prosecutors said Thursday that attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment in Southern California. Details of the case were scheduled to be made public at a midmorning news conference by U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna and the Internal Revenue Service, Hanna’s office said in a statement to news outlets. The indictment alleges …

NPR reports: Speakers of Arabic — one of the fastest-growing languages in the U.S. — will have one fewer barrier to participating in the upcoming 2020 census. For the first time, the federal government is planning to officially collect census responses in Arabic along with six other new language options for the head count, including French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Polish, …

The Associated Press reports: The Federal Aviation Administration plans to revamp oversight of airplane development after the two deadly crashes of Boeing’s new 737 Max raised questions of whether the FAA has gone too far in letting companies regulate themselves, according to testimony prepared for a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday. For decades, the FAA has delegated some authority for …

Reuters reports: Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd is seeking to sell Grindr LLC, the popular gay dating app it has owned since 2016, after a U.S. government national security panel raised concerns about its ownership, according to people familiar with the matter. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has informed Kunlun that its …

CNBC reports: Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti denied on Tuesday that he had tried to shake down Nike, and he accused the sports apparel giant of committing a “crime and coverup.” Avenatti tweeted his denial a day after he was arrested on federal charges, including trying to extort up to $25 million from the sports apparel company by threatening to reveal …

The Hill reports: Adult-film star Stormy Daniels said Monday that she was “saddened but not shocked” at charges brought against her former attorney, Michael Avenatti. “Knowing what I know now about Michael Avenatti, I am saddened but not shocked by news reports that he has been criminally charged today,” Daniels said in a statement. “I made the decision more than …

Via press release from the FDA: FDA wants you to be aware that some decorative glitters and dusts promoted for use on foods may, in fact, contain materials that should not be eaten. Many decorative glitters and dusts are sold over the Internet and in craft and bakery supply stores under names such as luster dust, disco dust, twinkle dust, …

USA Today reports: According to a notice issued Wednesday by the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, Cargill Meat Solutions is recalling approximately 132,000 pounds of ground beef products made from the chuck portion of the cow. Officials said the ground beef was produced and packaged on June 21, 2018, and affects 12 different Cargill products. …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump said Thursday that civilian employees of the federal government will not receive raises in 2019. In doing away with the 2.1 percent across-the-board pay increase that was scheduled to take effect in January, Trump said he was working “put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course.” Scrapping the raises will save more than $25 billion, …

Bloomberg Law reports: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile a database of journalists, editors, foreign correspondents, and bloggers to identify top “media influencers.” It’s seeking a contractor that can help it monitor traditional news sources as well as social media and identify “any and all” coverage …

The New York Times reports: A leading AIDS researcher and proponent of medication-assisted therapy for addiction was appointed Wednesday to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alex M. Azar II, secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, announced that the agency’s new director would be Dr. Robert R. Redfield, a professor at the University of Maryland School …

The Washington Post reports: The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau’s former deputy director over allegations that he authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a reporter and misled investigators when asked about it — though Justice Department officials are still reviewing the matter and have not come to a final decision, a person familiar …

Courthouse News reports: Federal prosecutors will drop charges against 129 of 188 people who were accused of felony rioting after President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday. Prosecutors will still press cases against 59 defendants they contend were most responsible for the demonstrations, which resulted in smashed windows, property damage …

Bloomberg reports: When the U.S. Justice Department said last week it was reversing policy on the $7 billion marijuana business, it failed to first notify federal officials who advise banks in states where the drug is legal, sources in Congress said. The announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime critic of legalizing marijuana, caused confusion among banks about …

The Washington Examiner reports: A federal judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a case Thursday which would have compelled the State Department and the U.S. archivist to continue searching for emails from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state in which she used a private email server and address. The case, brought by Cause of …

The Los Angeles Times reports: A federal judge in Hawaii on Tuesday issued an order blocking major parts of President Trump’s newest travel ban, suggesting it amounted to unconstitutional discrimination against Muslims and violated immigration law. The decision from U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu stops the administration’s travel restrictions nationwide before they were scheduled to take full effect …

Via press release: Today, the US Census Bureau reversed a previous decision to exclude a question on sexual orientation from the Census Barriers, Attitudes and Motivators Study. In response to this victory, Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, issued the following statement. “Make no mistake – public pressure on the Trump Administration works. It was messages …

The Associated Press reports: Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency are attending mandatory training sessions this week to reinforce their compliance with laws and rules against leaking classified or sensitive government information. It is part of a broader Trump administration order for anti-leaks training at all executive branch agencies. The Associated Press obtained training materials from the hourlong class. Government …