Trump said, “We need people to be afraid. Right now many Americans are surprised when protestors are killed, but they’ll get used to it.” Trump did add one suggestion: “Try not to kill white people. That gets too much attention. Stick to protestors of other colors.”   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

Millions of Americans stand to receive overtime pay as a result of President Obama’s new labor proposal that targets workers deemed “executive or professional” by their companies. The White House decided to go this route after Republicans refused to support legislation raising the minimum wage. Administration officials argue the government needs to act to help workers whose wages have stagnated, while corporate profits have soared since the Great Recession.   read more

A special military board to review cases of Guantánamo detainees has ruled for the first time that a prisoner remain behind bars indefinitely. The board decided that Abdel Malik al-Rahabi, of Yemen, should not go free in order to “protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States.” Rahabi told the board that he had no desire to harm the U.S. or Americans, and that he just wanted to return home to his family and go back to farming.   read more

Clozapine can cause serious side effects, including seizures and heart-muscle inflammation. Psychiatrist Michael Reinstein was found to have prescribed more clozapine to patients in Medicaid’s Illinois program than all of the doctors in the Medicaid programs of Texas, Florida and North Carolina combined. He also prescribed the drug to Medicare patients, despite its risks to the elderly. At least three of the doctor’s patients died of clozapine intoxication.   read more

Senator Dianne Feinstein now understands what her years of supporting the intelligence community have gotten her: being spied on and lied to. She has now gone on the offensive against the CIA. She took to the Senate floor to give a detailed account of how her committee conducted its probe of the CIA’s interrogation program, and how the CIA has broken the law by interfering with the work of the legislative branch. She also accused the CIA of intimidation.   read more

Two whistleblowers fired from their jobs at the nation’s biggest environmental cleanup project were prevented this week from testifying before a congressional committee looking into whistleblower terminations. That’s due to the objection of Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Senator Claire McCaskill wanted to hear from the whistleblowers in light of the numerous problems encountered at the Hanford nuclear cleanup operation in Washington state.   read more

A Michigan woman who starred in a conservative attack ad denouncing the Affordable Care Act has had her erroneous claims exposed and debunked by media sources. Still, she refuses to admit she was wrong. The Detroit News concluded that her change in coverage would actually save her money this year—more than $1,000. "It appears she jumped on television without trying to understand...her new coverage," wrote the Washington Post.   read more

Many cabinet-level departments have done a very poor job of facilitating or responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.. Among the 15 federal agencies reviewed using the criteria, not a single one received an A grade. The Departments of Labor, Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Homeland Security received F’s. The State Department had the distinction of earning the lowest overall score of any agency: 37%.   read more

The change in terminology was discovered in a military document, “Medical Management of Detainees With Weight Loss.” “The document tries to give the impression that it’s not about hunger strikes — that it’s about weight loss,” said Ret. Army Brigadier General Stephen Xenakis. It is clear that the military never intended for the document to be released. “They are completely sidestepping WMA’s advice,” that hunger strikers “shall not be fed artificially,” said Xenakis.   read more