The situation, ushered in by the 2010 Citizens United ruling, could lead to “anointing an aristocracy that’s getting a stronger and stronger grip on democracy,” said Miles Rapoport. One of the biggest progressive donors in 2014 was Tom Steyer, whose Nextgen Climate Action was the largest super PAC, raising almost $78 million, 85% from Steyer himself. On the right, packaging mogul Richard Uihlein funded three super PACs, for which he was the only donor, or gave more than 85% of its contributions.   read more

Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Yemeni rebels were made possible by F-15 fighter jets purchased from Boeing, while the UAE air force has hit ISIS in Syria using F-16s made by Lockheed Martin. The UAE also wants General Atomics’ Predator drones “to run spying missions in their neighborhood.” More weapons deals are expected as the Saudis and Emirates, plus Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt seek to “buy thousands of American-made missiles, bombs and other weapons."   read more

Detaining tens of thousands of immigrants each day in the U.S. has been good for two private prison operators: Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group. The two companies are responsible for imprisoning the majority of the 34,000 immigrants who must be locked up daily, per a federal quota established by Congress five years ago. CCA and GEO operate eight of the 10 largest immigrant detention centers and 72% of the privately contracted federal immigrant detention beds.   read more

One of the plaintiffs, Abel Edwards, was fined $500 by Judge Joshua C. Bell for burning leaves in his front yard. That fine by itself appears to be steep for such an offense, but after Red Hills’ fees were added on, it totaled more than $1,000. The probation company demanded $250 up front and had Edwards was kept in jail several days until a friend came up with the money.   read more

The program is geared towards defending these systems from attacks by China and other countries. The $5 billion expenditure represents a moneymaking opportunity for arms makers, non-traditional suppliers and international firms. The government is seeking new technologies for rocket launchers, communications, remote sensing, satellite control, sensors and other systems to expand the Pentagon’s ability to monitor space-related activities.   read more

The VA had been warned about cost overruns by contracting officials and even its contractor, Kiewit-Turner. “I must beg you once again that we re-think our strategies...” wrote the VA's Adelino Gorospe Jr. in an email. “Without a change in strategy, my estimate would be around half a billion dollars in total cost overrun: $500 Million! That’s how risky this type of contract is. Another reality check! Where in this economy are you going to find the money?”   read more

A new report from the National Employment Law Project says a majority of these two minority groups make less than $15 an hour. For Latinos the percentage is 59.5%, for African-Americans it’s 54.1%. The numbers are in stark contrast to those for white workers, nearly 64% of whom make more than $15 an hour. Black and Latino workers are heavily concentrated in the industries, such as food service and home health care, which pay the least.   read more

“If a person is not going to run for office, this money shouldn’t be able to sit around forever,” said Takano. So far he has not garnered a single coauthor for his bill. Former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who left office after 2010, still has nearly $10 million in his old campaign account. Disgraced Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida), who stepped down in 2006 after being caught sending sexually explicit messages to male congressional pages, still had more than $1.2 million left in his account.   read more

Tax cheats in the Dallas area who owe less than a $1 million need not worry about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) knocking on their doors. Five years of budget cuts has forced the Dallas IRS office to forego pursuing individuals who owe between $100,000 and $999,000. “I have to say, sorry, we can’t get that money,” Richard Christian, supervisory revenue officer in the Dallas region, told The Washington Post. “Nobody’s ever going to knock on their door.”   read more

The biggest travel spender in the House from 2010 to 2014 was Democrat Madeleine Bordallo, a non–voting delegate who represents Guam. She spent $1,061,780. Bordallo’s office explained the high expenses were a result of the cost of flying the delegate and staffers back and forth from Guam. However, Sunlight Foundation reporting showed that Bordallo and her staff were not taking advantage of more favorable airfares negotiated by the government.   read more

The State Department has been doing business with 30 contractors who use policies that discourage whistleblowing by employees, according to a government audit. The report said 13 contractors required workers to tell their superiors about being contacted by a government auditor or investigator. Five contractors use non-disparagement agreements that demand current and former employees avoid saying anything negative about the company or its officers or employees.   read more

Questions of legality surface since nonprofits like Right to Rise are supposed to operate independent of a candidate’s campaign. It will be able to collect unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations without disclosing their identities. “This is going to be an avenue for dark money," said Public Citizen's Craig Holman. And what kind of impact it will have on fundraising during the 2016 race? "Others are going to copy it in short order,” predicted FEC attorney Ken Gross.   read more

Angie’s List, a popular website that crowd-sources ratings for services, has halted its expansion in Indianapolis. The impact: $40 million and 1,000 jobs. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the largest labor unions in the country, has decided not to hold its women’s conference planned for October in Indianapolis. The impact: $500,000. The NCAA, which oversees major college sports, said it might reconsider hosting events in Indiana in response to the law.   read more

The costly drugs are effective—with cure rates of upwards of 90% and fewer dangerous side effects. “Curing hepatitis C will likely go on to prevent liver cancer, go on to prevent patients needing liver transplantation, go on to save health care dollars down the road,” said liver specialist Dr. Adam Peyton, who prescribed $13.5 million worth of hepatitis C drugs in Part D last year. “It’s upsetting that there's been so much negative publicity for such a positive breakthrough in medicine.”   read more

There is fraud in the system, according to the Urban Institute, but it’s not the kind that would be prevented by having a photo on the cards. Generally fraud occurs when a recipient buys food with the card and then sells it or connives with a retailer to receive cash back from a purchase, which is strictly forbidden by the regulations governing the program. In none of these scenarios would a photo on the cards stop fraud.   read more

SPOT, whose techniques were first used in 2003 and formalized in 2007, uses “highly questionable” screening techniques, according to the ACLU complaint, while being “discriminatory, ineffective, pseudo-scientific, and wasteful of taxpayer money.” TSA has spent at least $1 billion on SPOT.   read more