Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Democratic ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, released more than 200 pages of interview transcripts Tuesday afternoon after the committee's Chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), refused to do so.
Cummings is seeking to dispel any notion that targeting of Tea Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service was ordered from Washington.
Darrell Issa Furious After Democrat Releases IRS Transcript That Blows Up His Investigation
Journalist Michael Hastings Killed in Car Crash
Journalist Michael Hastings died in a car crash in Los Angeles early Tuesday at the age of 33, according to a statement from his employer, BuzzFeed.
Hastings, who was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was perhaps best known for his candid Rolling Stone interview with General Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, that eventually led to McChrystal being relieved of his command.
He was also the author of two books about America's wars: The Operators, detailing the flaws of the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, and I Lost My Love In Baghdad, about his experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq during his mid-twenties.
Lawsuit asks federal judge to end NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims
Civil rights advocates have asked a federal judge to declare an end to the NYPD’s various Muslim surveillance programs, arguing the spying unconstitutionally targets innocent people based solely on their religion.
The New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday, naming Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly as defendants along with Kelly’s deputy commissioner for intelligence, David Cohen.
US to begin talks with Taliban over Afghan future
The US is to open direct talks with Taliban leaders within days, it was revealed on Tuesday, after Washington agreed to drop a series of preconditions that have previously held back negotiations over the future of Afghanistan.
In a major milestone in the 12-year-old war, political representatives of the Taliban will shortly meet Afghan and US officials in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to discuss an agenda for what US officials called "peace and reconciliation" before further talks take place with Afghan government representatives soon after.
Bank of America whistle-blower’s bombshell: “We were told to lie”
Bank of America’s mortgage servicing unit systematically lied to homeowners, fraudulently denied loan modifications, and paid their staff bonuses for deliberately pushing people into foreclosure:
Yes, these allegations were suspected by any homeowner who ever had to deal with the bank to try to get a loan modification – but now they come from six former employees and one contractor, whose sworn statements were added last week to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts.
Anti-fracking groups rally in Albany, urge ban
As about 2,000 opponents of fracking rallied Monday outside New York's Capitol, a new statewide poll showed a slight increase in voters statewide who oppose the method of drilling for natural gas.
The demonstrators cheered announcement of the poll results while urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to permanently ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in New York, saying it will harm the environment. Pending legislation would impose that moratorium, but rally organizers acknowledged it's unlikely to be enacted now.
GM recalls 200K more SUVs for fire risk
General Motors is recalling nearly 200,000 midsize SUVs because the master power door and window module in the driver's door can short out and catch fire.
Because the risk is serious enough -- and can happen when the truck is not in use -- GM says owners should park the trucks outdoors until the module is repaired, according to documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
New NYC evacuation zones include almost 3M people
Nearly 3 million New Yorkers' homes are now in evacuation zones that cover more than a third of the city's population, under new maps released Tuesday.
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, officials said last month, the number of zones would double and encompass about 600,000 more residents. Few storms are likely to require evacuating all six new zones, and the scheme is designed both to give officials more flexibility in ordering evacuations and give residents a better picture of their flooding risk.
Inspired by prayer, Virginia politician starts errant bedsheet drive for troops in Afghanistan
This spring, a local political candidate in Roanoke, Va., started an appeal for bedsheets to help U.S. MASH units in Afghanistan, which had run short and been forced to put wounded troops on ripped, bloodstained linen, she said.
“Afghanistan MASH units are in GREAT NEED of sheets!” said the Facebook page created to help. “These units treat and house our military service men and women who are wounded in battle and their linens are all but gone! They are using torn, worn and blood and other bodily fluid stained sheets over and over again.”
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