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For the first time, the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged the existence in Washington of what appear to be rogue devices that foreign spies and criminals could be using to track individual cellphones and intercept calls and messages. The use of what are known as cellphone-site simulators by foreign powers has long been a concern, but American intelligence and law enforcement agencies - which use such eavesdropping equipment themselves - have been silent on the issue until now.
For the first time, the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged the existence in Washington of what appear to be rogue devices that foreign spies and criminals could be using to track individual cellphones and intercept calls and messages.
Police in other countries will be able to get emails and other electronic communication more easily from their own citizens and from Americans under a bill that Congress stuffed inside the massive $1.3 trillion spending deal passed this week. Supporters say the bill, dubbed the CLOUD Act, will simplify the process for the U.S. government and its allies to get evidence of serious crimes and terrorist threats when that evidence is stored on a server in another country.
Last week's spending bill includes a bipartisan plan to create a wildfire disaster fund to help combat increasingly severe wildfires that have devastated the West in recent years. The bill sets aside more than $20 billion over 10 years to allow the Forest Service and other federal agencies end a practice of raiding nonfire-related accounts to pay for wildfire costs, which approached $3 billion last year.
Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, the new nominee to direct the NSA, faced questions Thursday from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about how he would lead the spy agency.
The Senate's top Democrat is not calling on his fellow party members to oppose President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state-torture-praising Mike Pompeo-or his nominee to lead the CIA-" actual torturer " Gina Haspel. Schumer said Pompeo and Haspel face "lots of outstanding questions," but hoped that if Pompeo is confirmed, he "will turn over a new leaf and will start toughening up our policies towards Russia and Putin."
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke bristled Tuesday under tough questioning by Democrats about his travel spending as the Trump administration seeks deep cuts to conservation programs and fee increases at national parks. He has proposed doubling entry fees during peak seasons at some of the nation's most popular national parks to help make up for an $11 billion backlog in needed maintenance.
Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to become the first woman to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, made her career in covert action, but her involvement in controversial interrogations has already provoked opposition in the Senate to her confirmation. Haspel, who joined the CIA in 1985, earned high-level awards during her career and was sworn in as deputy director of the agency on Feb. 7, 2017.
Congressman Greg Walden toured Humm Kombucha's new northeast Bend facility Friday, to draw attention to a proposal he's supporting, which would change federal beverage regulations. Currently, alcoholic beverages are designated as those with .5% alcohol by volume , which often includes fermented drinks like kombucha.
The Trump Organization has donated $151,470 in foreign government profits at its hotels and similar businesses last year to the U.S. Treasury, an executive said in a statement Friday. George Sorial, the executive vice president and chief compliance counsel, said the Feb. 22 voluntary donation fulfills the company's pledge to donate profits from foreign government patronage while Donald Trump is president.
Senators on the Intelligence Committee expressed deep frustration during a March 7 hearing focused on the government's lack of progress in reducing its 710,000-strong backlog of pending security clearance requests. Charles Phalen, director of the National Background Investigations Bureau, told lawmakers it would likely be years before they saw a significant reduction in the backlog.
Booker, D-N.J., said he has talked to a number of federal lawmakers of both parties, who come from states that have legalized the drug and are opposed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement in January that the Justice Department once again would prosecute marijuana cases in states that have legalized the drug. Under President Barack Obama, Justice officials said they would let states enforce their own laws while the federal agency focused on drug cartels, on transporting marijuana into states that have not legalized it, and on making sure legal marijuana businesses are not used as a cover for illegal activities, including selling other drugs.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Internal Revenue Service will issue guidance within the next two weeks to prevent hedge-fund managers from dodging new tax rules on carried-interest profits. "I've already met with the IRS and our Office of Tax Policy this morning as a result of that article," Mnuchin said Wednesday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, referring to a Bloomberg News story about hedge fund managers creating shell companies to work around stricter limits on carried interest.
Some Medicare beneficiaries would face higher prescription drug costs under President Donald Trump's budget while the sickest patients save thousands of dollars, in a plan that comes as the administration has made bringing down drug costs a top priority. In budget documents, the administration said its proposals strike a balance between improving the popular "Part D" prescription benefit for the 42 million seniors enrolled, while correcting design flaws that increase program costs for taxpayers.
As ABC News reports, Ron Wyden wrote to the Treasury Department last Friday, arguing that "It is imperative that Congress follow the money and conduct a thorough investigation into any potential money laundering or other illicit financial dealings between the president, his associates, and Russia." Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is probably wasting his time scrutinizing President Trump's 2008 Palm Beach property sale to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.
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From left, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., chat as they pass in the Senate subway on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. The Capitol is seen in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018.
Top Democrats are questioning President Donald Trump's infrastructure plan even before it's released, raising doubts about whether the administration's approach can win bipartisan support. Trump has long touted his plan to upgrade U.S. public works as something that can win Democratic backing, and he will appeal to Democrats on infrastructure in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Although trailing the leading contestant by $3,000 entering the final round, Lindgren won the final round not with the correct answer but by risking less cash than her rivals. All three missed the correct final response, "Vincent Van Gogh."
"The stakes are too high to put politics before people: President Trump stripped protections for Dreamers and Congressional Republicans have not prioritized Children's Health insurance. Oregon's families and Dreamers deserve certainty, not partisanship," she said.