Editorial: Prison secrets

Canada’s prison system faces a barrage of lawsuits – enough, says the federal prison ombudsman, to keep an entire law firm busy. While that’s surely a burden to Correctional Service Canada and the Department of Justice, the mounting legal actions exact the biggest toll on those who want and deserve answers.

Sessions Tough Talk, Policies Could Increase Prison Totals

The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend. Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing – and during private meetings in his first days on the job – that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in strict enforcement of immigration laws.

Sessions’ tough crime talk could lead to fuller prisons

The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend. Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing and in first days on the job that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in The result could be in an increase not only in the number of drug prosecutions brought by the Justice Department but also in the average length of sentence prosecutors pursue for even lower-level criminals.

Sessions’ tough on crime talk could lead to fuller prisons

The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend. Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing – and during private meetings in his first days on the job – that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in strict enforcement of immigration laws.

Students: Chancellor failed minorities on pro-white agitator

The University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor’s response to a student trying to set up a pro-white group on campus further alienates minorities as they struggle for a better campus experience, student leaders said Friday. The student’s effort to set up a campus chapter of the American Freedom Party – whose platform includes “prioritizing white supremacy values,” according to its Facebook page – has raised questions about how the university should respond and comes as the white nationalist movement as a whole has been emboldened by Donald Trump’s presidency.

Hastert wants accuser to repay $1.7M

Imprisoned former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has asked a Kendall County, Ill., judge to not only reject a sexual-abuse victim’s breach-of-contract lawsuit but also make the man pay back $1.7 million in secret hush-money payments. In response to the lawsuit and in his counterclaim, made public Thursday and signed by Hastert, he denied that the oral pact is akin to a valid and enforceable contract and, if so, it would be the plaintiff who breached it when he broke his silence and spoke to federal authorities.

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Later this month, Barack Obama will become the first president in at least 40 years to leave the office with a smaller federal prison system than he started with. In 2015, the total incarceration rate – including state prisons, federal prisons and local jails – fell to 670 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents.

Your Jan. 4 Pre-Trip: UberFreight takes on trucking

Uber recently unveiled a new website for its delivery service called UberFreight . According to a Futurism report, details about the new service are sparse, “but it’s likely the plan is to use test runs of the technology to gather real-life data that will ‘educate’ the self-driving algorithms.”