LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 7, 2017) – On Tuesday, a Michigan House committee unanimously passed a bill that would ban “material support or resources” for warrantless federal surveillance programs. This represents an essential step states need to take at a time when the federal government seems unlikely to ever end its own spying. Rep. Martin Howrylak (R-Troy)…
"Chilling surveillance footage of a drug-war operation in Manila raises fresh doubts about police actions in President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-narcotics campaign. Reuters obtained the footage, which shows the deadly operation from start to finish."
"Home buyers are facing a new challenge in finding mid-priced houses to purchase: Cash buyers who swoop in and snatch up all the properties. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, while mortgage lending is finally rebounding after the housing crash of a few years ago, cash deals are still at higher than normal levels – even with the prices of homes heading into record territory."
"Gravity-defying property prices in China have spawned widespread home-loan fraud as buyers fear missing out on what seems like a sure bet. Real estate agents, valuation companies and banks themselves are party to the scam."
"Welsh IT worker James Howells says he accidentally threw away a hard drive full of Bitcoin which he believes is now worth more than $100 million (around £74 million). He’s been fighting Newport city council ever since for a permit to look for the computer, which contains over 7,500 units of the cryptocurrency and is buried below thousands of tonnes of rubbish on a landfill site. A spokesperson for the council said James has been told 'on several occasions' he will not be given a permit despite his offer of a 10% cut."
"The timing couldn’t be worse, coming amid reports the US and Saudi governments intend to push a new peace deal which is overwhelmingly biased in favor of Israel, and which leaves the Palestinians with only 'limited sovereignty' and no state."
"There are no heroes in the civil war between Houthi rebels, who have Iranian backing and were responsible for killing Saleh, and the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government. Both sides have inflicted death and suffering on civilians. The Saudi coalition currently has a partial blockade on ports and airfields controlled by the Houthis. Hostilities have already killed or wounded at least 14,000 people in nearly three years, and countless others have died from disease and starvation. Some 1 million people have contracted cholera in part because the lack of fuel has affected the ability to pump clean water."
WASHINGTON (Dec. 6, 2017) – The federal government plans to use a TSA program advertised as a way to avoid lines at airport security checkpoints to harvest photos and other biometric information that will ultimately end up in multiple federal databases. The TSA touts its PreCheck program as a way to avoid the hassle of…
In the New York Times, Saikrishna Prakash and John Yoo: Don’t Prosecute Trump. Impeach Him. As to prosecution, they argue: The Constitution imposes on the president the duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” which vests the authority to oversee all federal law enforcement. As Alexander Hamilton observed in Federalist 70, “good government”…
Last month, a reporter with the Anniston Star in Alabama interviewed me about a bill prefiled in the Alabama House for 2018 that would exempt the purchase of gold and silver bullion from state sales and use tax, encouraging its use and taking the first step toward breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. I could tell…