How Customs and Border Protection Illegally Tried to Unmask a Rogue Twitter Account

By Shawn Musgrave

When the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to unmask an irksome Twitter account imploded last year, few within the agency were surprised, according to newly released records. “Why would we do this?” one official asked in early April 2017 after Twitter filed a complaint in federal court, according to the heavily redacted emails.

The short-lived investigation into @ALT_USCIS, an anonymous account that claims it’s run by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee, sparked an uproar over First Amendment encroachments and potential abuses of power last year, including from members of Congress.

The new documents, released last week by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press after it sued the DHS and Customs and Border Protection, reveal a partial timeline of the abortive investigation. But more importantly, the emails show how a seemingly unsupervised CBP agent improperly attempted to force Twitter to produce records on a particular user without a court order — completely disregarding whether the summons was legal.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Intercept

Dollars for Docs: See What Payments Your Doctor May Be Getting From Drug Companies

by Charles Ornstein, Lena Groeger, Mike Tigas and Ryann Grochowski Jones

Pharmaceutical and medical device companies are now required by law to release details of their payments to a variety of doctors and U.S. teaching hospitals for promotional talks, research and consulting, among other categories. Use this tool to search for general payments (excluding research and ownership interests) made from August 2013 to December 2015.

Source: ProPublica

Technology's Impact on the Workforce

The Century Foundation’s Andrew Stettner discusses his proposal for dealing with technology’s impact on the future workforce.

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN

This Week in Washington: An Analysis

Anita Kumar and Erik Wasson talked about the week ahead in Washington.

Click here for video. 

Source: C-SPAN 

Hollywood & Race: 'Come See the Paradise' (1990)

Come See the Paradise is a drama written and directed by Alan Parker and starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita. Set before and during World War II, the film depicts the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent loss of civil liberties within the framework of a love story. 

Source: Wanessa Lima

Trailblazers in Black History: Drusilla Dunjee Houston

The following excerpt is from an article written by Peggy Brooks-Bertram.

Drusilla Dunjee Houston was a prolific, but now forgotten, African-American woman writer of the American West. She was a skilled journalist, Racial Uplift matriarch, and community builder in early Oklahoma (Brooks-Bertram 2002, xlii). 

We learn from Derek Allen’s 1936 Federal Writers Project report that she was also an accomplished musician who studied at the Northwestern Conservatory of Music in Minnesota where she trained in classical piano.  

In addition to her community work, Houston engaged in pioneering African American scholarship in which she crafted a series of historical texts on ancient African history, most notably, what she called “The Wonderful Ethiopians.”

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Women Film Pioneers Project

Stung by Criticism, DNC Hires More Minorities, Elevates Women

by Alex Seitz-Wald 

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the Democratic National Committee's staff are now people of color and 51 percent are women, according to a new report to be published by the DNC Monday.

The report was prepared as the party responds to criticism that it has taken minority voters for granted while overlooking them for jobs and contracts.

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Source: NBC News 

McConnell Aims to Use Courts to Motivate Voters

by Leigh Ann Caldwell

WASHINGTON — When the Senate reconvenes this week, one of the first items of business will be the confirmation of six more of President Donald Trump's federal judicial nominees, adding more momentum to an already torrid pace that is remaking the federal bench and providing motivation for Republican voters ahead of this fall's midterm elections.

Over the first year-plus of Trump's presidency, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has taken advantage of the GOP's numbers and Senate rule changes to prioritize the confirmation of judges to lifetime appointments, putting a strong conservative imprint on the courts that could also pay dividends for the party's Senate candidates in a rocky election season.

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Source: NBC News 

U.S. Trains Ukrainian Troops for a 'Counter Attack'

CBS News rides along with Ukrainian forces being trained by members of the New York Army National Guard to face Russian-backed separatists on the far eastern edge of Europe.

Bonus Report: Ukrainian Leader on 'Hot War' with Russia

Miraculous Recovery for 13-Year-Old Declared Brain Dead

Trump's Iran Deal Decision Days Away

Bonus Report
Dumping Iran Nuclear Deal 'A Mistake,' Britain Warns Trump

Malaysia's Ruling Party Expected to Win Election

Student Activists' Role in Armenia's 'Velvet Revolution'

Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria Blamed for Attack on Church

Russia: Vladimir Putin Sworn in for Fourth Presidential Term

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Cambodia's Newspaper Sale Stokes Fears of Free Press Crackdown

Source: FRANCE 24 English

France Condemns Trump’s Statements on Paris Attacks at the NRA

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Pakistan: Interior Minister Shot, Wounded in Assassination Bid

Source: FRANCE 24 English

India: Second Teenager Raped, Set on Fire

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Uganda: Government Plans Tax on Social Media

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Turnout Turnoff as Lebanese Voters Stay Away from Vote That Changes Little

Less than half the electorate voted in a poll that strengthens Hezbollah and pro-Iranian forces, and saw the return of major pro-Assad figures, but Prime Minister Hariri is expected to stay on.

Source: euronews. 

More Fissures Open Up Across Island After Kilauea Erupution

This report was published on YouTube on May 6. 

Source: euronews.

City Scoop: $89 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2019, Workplace Sexual Harassment

This video was published on YouTube on May 4.

Source: NYC Mayor's Office

'The Four Horsemen': Is America Doomed?

Documentary Examines the Economic System and Its Dangers

This video was published on YouTube on December 2, 2016. 

Source: Tahir W.

Noam Chomsky: Is Iran a Threat?

This video was published on YouTube on April 27. 

Source: Chomsky's Philosophy

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: Her Life and Death in the Media

Source: Al Jazeera

Islamophobia Inc - An Al Jazeera Special Investigation (Promo)

The following statement was posted on YouTube by Al Jazeera English. 

Across the United States, there has been a growth in organizations that portray Islam as a threat. 

Over two years, the number of groups that make up what’s become known as the Islamophobia industry has more than tripled. 

This investigation reveals the tactics these groups use to instigate a fear of Islam, including how they manipulate social media to create a false narrative that Muslims are trying to take over the country. 

Anti-Muslim messages proliferate social media with bought-in followers, fake accounts and robotic amplifiers. 

The investigation also shows how these organizations try to suppress the rise of a Muslim political voice in America. It uncovers the “dark money” that has fueled the rapid growth of Islamophobia Inc. - tens of millions of dollars which is funneled through secretive, anonymous donor funds. 

We unveil the donors of the dark money and ask; what do they ultimately hope to achieve?

US Navy Resurrects Second Fleet to Counter Russia Threat

Many Killed in Afghan Blast

Source: euronews.

Putin Prepares for Fourth Term in Office

Source: euronews.

How the White Power Movement Uses Cell-Style Terrorism

This report was published on YouTube on May 4.

Source: CBS News

Bonus Report: Marines Open Investigation Into Active-Duty White Supremacist

Rapper Meek Mill Calls for Criminal Justice Reform

Rapper Meek Mill is calling for criminal justice reform just over a week after he was released from prison. Mill was granted bail after being sentenced in November 2017 to two to four years for probation violations.

Washington, DC Taekwondo Legend Jhoon Rhee Dies at 86

This report was published on YouTube on April 30.

Source: WUSA9

Trump Administration Ends Protected Status for 60,000 Hondurans

by Suzanne Gamboa

The Trump administration is shutting off protections for people who have lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has started the clock on their forced return to violence-plagued, politically volatile and poverty-stricken Honduras.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending the protection for Hondurans but has delayed the shutdown date until Jan. 5, 2020, about 18 months, sending the actual termination of the protections into the next presidential election year.

Hondurans are the latest group living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to be told their time here is up or nearly so. They were first allowed to remain in the U.S. legally and work here in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc on the country. The hurricane killed 7,000 in Honduras and 11,000 in Central America. It caused billions in damages and deepened poverty in the region.

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News 

Oklahoma, Kansas Approve Religious Veto on LGBTQ Adoptions

by Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. — State lawmakers in Oklahoma and Kansas have approved legislation to grant legal protections to faith-based adoption agencies that cite their religious beliefs for not placing children in LGBTQ homes.

Supporters of such measures argued that the core issue is protecting a group’s right to live out its religious faith, while critics saw them as attacks on LGBTQ rights. Both Oklahoma and Kansas have GOP-controlled legislatures and governors, but in Kansas, the proposal split Republicans.

The Oklahoma House’s 56-21 vote Thursday sent its measure to Gov. Mary Fallin, who has not said whether she would sign it. It’s similar to laws in at least five other states.

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Source: NBC News 

Man Who Left 1-Year-Old Boy at Harlem Doorstep Arrested, Police Say

A man who abandoned a toddler in front of a Harlem home last week has been arrested, the NYPD said. 

Antonio A. Staton, 22, faces charges including kidnapping, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly leaving his ex-girlfriend's one-year-old son in the gated exterior foyer of a building on West 132nd Street, police said. 

Click here for video. 

Source: NBC News 4 New York

Hepatitis C Cure Eludes Patients as States Struggle with Costs

by Maggie Fox

Wanda Bamberg Tia is clearly in good shape.

The 62-year-old dance instructor and fitness coach is obsessive about her health, eating carefully, drinking in moderation and staying away from drugs or smoking. Her kitchen cabinets are loaded with vitamin supplements, health drinks and herbal remedies.

So she was stunned when in early 2017 she was diagnosed with hepatitis C — and probably had been infected for decades.

“I had been feeling a little tired and stressed, but that was not what I expected,” Tia said.

And she was even more distressed to learn that, while there are more than a half-dozen drugs that cure hepatitis, getting health insurance to pay for them can be a challenge.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News

President Trump Attends a Roundtable Discussion on Tax Reform

This video was published on YouTube on May 5. 

Source: The White House

Trump Won't Be Invited to John McCain's Funeral, Source Says

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been asked to deliver eulogies at John McCain’s funeral, people close to both former Presidents and a source close to McCain confirm to CNN.

In Memoriam: Rabbi Aaron Panken

Killed in New York Plane Crash

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The New York Daily News

From The G-Man offers its condolences to Rabbi Panken's family, friends, colleagues and members of the Jewish community.