In an attempt to end the war caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to return Alaska to Russia in exchange for Russia pulling its troops from Eastern Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said he would agree to the proposal if Trump also returned Fort Ross and the Russian River in California, Russia sold Fort Ross to Mexican citizen John Sutter in 1841.   read more

The IG’s report shows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put mortgage fraud at the bottom of its criminal priority list—after receiving extra funding ($196 million from the 2009 to 2011) to address this problem. In some major cities, mortgage fraud wasn’t even on the FBI’s radar as any kind of a priority. Just as disturbing was the fact that Justice inflated its numbers to make it appear prosecutors were doing more than they actually were.   read more

Paul didn’t comment on the proposed law’s effect on pot legislation. On March 24, 2013, he told Fox News, “The main thing I’ve said is not to legalize them [marijuana and synthetic recreational drugs] but not to incarcerate people for extended periods of time.” Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), submitted a committee report citing President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce federal marijuana laws as an example of federal overreach.   read more

Inspectors general are expected to audit the department or agency for which they work for examples of fraud, waste, mismanagement and general incompetence. The Homeland Security inspector general post was unfilled for 1,134 days before Roth was confirmed. That’s a long time, but it wasn’t close to the current record. That’s held by the Department of Interior, which hasn’t had an IG since February 23, 2009, or 1,846 days as of this writing.   read more

Ireland has not had an American ambassador for 14 months. The fault lies squarely with President Barack Obama, who has not nominated a replacement. The White House offered no explanation for the delay. Officials in Canada also complained about the eight-month delay in their country getting a new U.S. ambassador. But Obama was not to blame for this one. Bruce Heyman's confirmation vote before the full Senate was delayed by partisan politics. He was finally confirmed on March 12.   read more

Among the more prominent violations during the period studied: The production of the “torture memos” by George W. Bush Administration-era Justice Department officials Jay Bybee and John Yoo. Bybee is now a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Yoo is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.   read more

Since John Roberts was confirmed as chief justice, cases in which the Chamber has an interest have gone the pro-business group’s way 72% of the time, according to the Constitutional Accountability Center. This compares to a 56% win rate from 1994 to 2005 when William Rehnquist, like Roberts a Republican appointee, ran the court. So far this term, the Chamber has come out ahead on seven of eight cases in which it’s involved.   read more

Con men scammed more than $1.6 billion in 2013, according to a report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This does not include identity theft complaints. Victims lost an average of $2,294 in scams. Forty percent of fraud victims were initially contacted by telephone and 33% by email. The Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN), a database the FTC maintains for the use of law-enforcement agencies, reports that identity theft was the top crime reported, with 14% of the 2.1 million complaints.   read more

The bulk of his time,Wright said, was spent trying to cut through the bureaucracy run by Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, for whom Wright worked. One example cited by Wright involved his efforts to fill the post of an ORI division director. He says he was told by Koh’s deputy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Wanda Jones, that the position Wright wanted to fill was on a secret priority list and he was not allowed to know where that position fell on the list.   read more

In 2011, she was appointed assistant secretary of defense for Global Strategic Affairs (GSA). In that post, Creedon has overseen such policy issues as cybersecurity for the Department of Defense (DOD), nuclear weapons, missile defense and countering weapons of mass destruction. As part of her position as assistant secretary of defense, she has been co-leader of a Pentagon team reviewing recent problems with Air Force nuclear missile crews.   read more

The company also will have the chance to bid on government contracts. It is currently the second largest oil producer in the Gulf—next to Royal Dutch Shell—having drilled 63.6 million barrels in 2013 at Gulf sites leased before the disaster. The lifting of restrictions comes just in time for BP, as the Department of the Interior plans on March 19 to auction oil and gas leases covering more than 40 million acres in the Gulf.   read more

The repeal would not apply to the death sentence of Michael Addison, who was convicted of killing Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs in 2006. He is scheduled to be the first person to be executed in New Hampshire in 75 years. Hassan’s support of the bill is contingent on Addison’s life not being spared; otherwise she promised to veto it.   read more

Whitaker said the plane piloted by his father disappeared somewhere over Spain in October 1980. The plaintiff seems to suspect that some of the DC-3s he has sought information on were used by the CIA in its covert operations. His FOIA request to the spy agency asked for any information that would reveal whether “any of these persons or aircraft were later found to be employed or contracted by the CIA for service in Central America or elsewhere.”   read more

Cocaine consumption dropped by 50% between 2006 and 2010. Marijuana use, on the other hand, increased by 30% during the period covered by the study. Heroin use remained fairly constant, with a slight rise beginning in 2008. Methamphetamine use peaked in 2005, but the study did not account for users who produce their own drugs. Also the data was drawn primarily from urban areas, and meth use is thought to be more prevalent in rural areas.   read more

Regulators wrote that they had found two cattle heads with eye cancer and that some of the meat shipped was “likely affected with epithelioma of the eye.” Federal investigators told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the heads were cut off to remove the evidence. The USDA has announced that, in an unusual move, it is conducting a criminal investigation and may actually hold someone accountable.   read more

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has known about the records and asked the White House repeatedly for them. But Obama has refused to allow the committee to examine them. Obama has not exercised a claim of executive privilege to keep the documents hidden. Instead, the White House has just sat on them. “These documents certainly raise the specter that the White House has been involved in stonewalling the investigation,” said Brennan Center's Elizabeth Goitein.   read more

Not even a downturn in profits can dissuade Wall Street from rewarding itself with higher bonuses. Last year, Wall Street’s shrinking pool of workers enjoyed on average a 15% bump in bonuses. The average bonus climbed to $164,530 in 2012, making it the largest bonus since 2007, the year before the financial crisis. Although Wall Street produces only 5% of the New York City’s jobs, it accounts for 22% of its wages.   read more