Category: Dianne Feinstein

6 days later, no more clarity from Trump on wiretapping claims

Six days after he accused his Oval Office predecessor of wiretapping him, President Donald Trump on Thursday again avoided questions about the charge, leaving his aides and allies still-struggling to explain his Saturday-morning broadside. Trump was initially scheduled to come before cameras twice in the Roosevelt Room Thursday.

Democrats grill Rod Rosenstein on Russia

Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein faced a barrage of questions from Democratic senators Tuesday about how he would handle investigations into Russian meddling in last year’s election if he is confirmed to serve as the No. 2 official at Department of Justice.

AP source: Senators want materials saved for Russia probe

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, walks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, following a closed-door intelligence briefing by FBI Director James Comey. less Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, walks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, following … more Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., walk to a closed intelligence briefing with FBI Director James Comey, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

License to discriminate?

Many discussions about unequal justice in the United States focus on the disproportionate number of African Americans – particularly young black men – who end up in our jails and prisons. Our review of 5.5 million state court records showed that same pattern in Oregon.

Schumer says he has ‘serious concerns’ about Gorsuch

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he has “serious, serious concerns” about President Donald Trump ‘s Supreme Court nominee after their meeting, complaining that the federal judge “avoided answers like the plague.” The New York Democrat said after the meeting that he asked Gorsuch about “whether a Muslim ban could in concept be constitutional,” alluding to Trump’s executive order banning entries to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries; about Trump’s unsubstantiated comments that there may have been millions of illegal votes in the 2016 election; and about the reach of executive power.

5 Potential Trump Supreme Court Picks

President Donald Trump plans to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court to the nation on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. Conservatives are hoping for someone who can replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, considered to be a strong constitutionalist guided by the original intent of the Founders.

Intact Mexico-to-US border tunnels post security risk

Mexican drug cartels have burrowed dozens of tunnels in the past decade, outfitted them with rail and cart systems to whisk drugs under the U.S. border and, after being discovered by authorities, abandoned them. At least six previously discovered border tunnels have been reactivated by Mexican trafficking groups in recent years, exposing a recurring large-scale smuggling threat, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials.

Things to know about Trump’s Cabinet confirmation hearings

Attorney General-designate, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Attorney General-designate, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Year’s Best Drug Scares

Marijuana was on the ballot in six states this year, and prohibitionists hauled out some familiar, even quaint, arguments against legalization. Three of those warnings made my list of the year’s most memorable drug scares, which is rounded out by the panic over adolescent vaping and the DEA’s decision to treat kratom as a public menace.

This Christmas my prayers are for the people of Aleppo

It is a Christmas accompanied by the horrors of mass executions of women and children, airstrikes and barrel bombing of civilians – and mostly world silence in response. Americans witnessed neatly edited clips of human suffering in Aleppo as its residents made heartbreaking pleas for the world to save them.

California’s Electoral College goes to Clinton amid protests

Tate Atherton-Shipp, 5, of Fairfield, Calif., holds a sign at a rally outside the state Capitol, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. People turned out at a rally before the Electoral College was scheduled to meet, urging electors to vote their conscience and reject the expected selection of President-elect Donald Trump.

Obama signs bill for Flint water, California drought

President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California. Obama said the bill advances vital projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve flood control and rebuild water infrastructure – including pipes in Flint, where residents have struggled with lead-tainted water for more than two years.

FDA Increases Transparency of Adverse Event Data for Cosmetics and Foods

On December 6th, FDA announced that it is publicly releasing data received by the Agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition about adverse events related to cosmetics and foods, including both conventional foods and dietary supplements. Adverse events can be any negative reaction to a product, such as a serious illness or allergic reactions, or other complaints like packaging problems, that are received through FDA’s voluntary adverse event reporting systems for these classes of regulated products .

US privacy board in disarray before Trump takes office

A federal board responsible for protecting Americans against abuses by spy agencies is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7 – and zero Democrats, even though it is required to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency.