In the News
Across the country, people are increasingly anxious about election meddling. On July 13, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, announced that special counsel Robert Mueller had indicted 12 members of Russia's military-intelligence agency for their roles in the alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committee. While indictments are not evidence, it's clear that the United States has much work to do in order to make its election system free, fair, and secure.
A massive group of House Democrats—totaling at least 70 members in all—signed onto the establishment of a Medicare for All caucus Thursday morning, signaling the increasing feasibility of the policy among members.
The caucus, co-chaired by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), is intended to help "build the evidence base" for a Medicare for All proposal, Jayapal said at a press conference announcing the formation of the group.
A bill meant to clear the way for public access to reports submitted to Congress is in danger of hitting a roadblock, government transparency advocates warned Thursday.
The bipartisan Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act was approved without objection by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Administration Committee in February and April, clearing the way for consideration on the House floor.
Leading Democratic lawmakers have begun proposing several moonshot policies to address economic problems related to technological advances and automation, from large cash transfers to jobs guarantees. The debate swirling around these potential policies has already become oddly heated considering there is little research into how these major reforms would impact the whole American economy, let alone how they could be implemented effectively.
A pair of bipartisan lawmakers says it is time to give federal government websites a facelift.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), in a Wired op-ed piece, argue that the federal government needs to redesign its public-facing websites and make them more functional.
"It's no secret that the federal government is way behind the private sector when it comes to modernization and technology," the duo wrote. "Because of these outdated systems, many federal agencies rank staggeringly behindthe private sector when it comes to customer service."
California legislators on Thursday adopted sweeping new rules that restrict the data-harvesting practices of Amazon.com, Facebook, Google and Uber, a move that soon could spur other states and Congress to take aim at the tech industry.
President Trump moved to end his administration's policy separating children from immigrant parents who cross into the U.S. illegally — but California elected officials and activists blasted the new practice of detaining immigrant families together indefinitely.
Under an executive order Trump signed Wednesday, immigrant families that cross the border illegally will be kept in detention centers together, potentially for months as their asylum cases proceed.
CAIRO (AP) — The 15 officers who arrived at the prison in southern Yemen hid their faces behind headdresses, but their accents were clearly foreign — from the United Arab Emirates. They lined up the detainees and ordered them to undress and lie down. The officers then searched the anal cavity of each prisoner, claiming that they were looking for contraband cellphones.
The men screamed and wept. Those who resisted were threatened by barking dogs and beaten until they bled.
As President Trump prepared for his historic summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats penned a letter last week threatening to maintain or even strengthen sanctions against North Korea if Trump did not ensure that the country completely dismantle all of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.