The Obama administration's Justice Department has asserted that the FBI can obtain telephone records of international calls made from the U.S. without any formal legal process or court oversight, according to a document obtained by McClatchy.
That assertion was revealed — perhaps inadvertently — by the department in its response to a McClatchy request for a copy of a secret Justice Department memo. Critics say the legal position is flawed and creates a potential loophole that could lead to a repeat of FBI abuses that were supposed to have been stopped in 2006.
Obama assertion: FBI can get phone records without oversight
Rare disease or not, Colorado teen can't have medical pot at school, not even a lozenge
A Colorado teen with a rare neurological disease wants to do two things: Take the medical marijuana he needs to control his seizures and attend high school. Sounds simple, but, of course, it's anything but.
The drama playing out between the student and the school likely has little to do with the boy's disease -- described as diaphragmatic and axial myoclonus -- and more to do with the zero-tolerance policy regarding medical marijuana.
Mubarak Steps Down as President, Army Takes Over
Egypt's embattled President Hosni Mubarak abruptly stepped down as president, ending his 30-year-rein, and Egyptian armed forces will take over the leadership of the country, vice president Omar Suleiman announced today.
Crowds gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted into loud cheers, chanting "Egypt is free," as the historic announcement was made.
Turkey Gaza flotilla probe: Five shot dead at close range
A Turkish government inquiry into Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American says Israeli soldiers shot five victims at close range.
The report released Friday says two of the victims were killed even before soldiers boarded the Turkish ship in May. The report says Israel blatantly violated international laws. Israeli commandos raided the flotilla in May last year as it sought to break the blockade on the Hamas-ruled strip.
Israel openly opposes democracy in Mid East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's second-in-command has strictly rejected the establishment of democracy in Egypt, alleging it could have dire consequences.
Deputy Premier Silvan Shalom said attempts at promotion of democracy in Egypt could strengthen what he called radical elements in the country, said Israeli website The Marker, a subdivision of the Ha'aretz newspaper.
"Waiting for Superman' Rhee faces renewed scrutiny over depiction of students' progress when she taught
Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, known for her crusade to use standardized test scores to help evaluate teachers, is facing renewed scrutiny over her depiction of progress that her students made years ago when she was a schoolteacher.
A former D.C. math teacher, Guy Brandenburg, posted on his blog a study that includes test scores from the Baltimore school where Rhee taught from 1992 to 1995. The post, dated Jan. 31, generated intense discussion in education circles this week. In it, Brandenburg contended that the data show Rhee "lied repeatedly" in an effort to make gains in her class look more impressive than they were.
Is another war court plea deal on the horizon?
The Pentagon Thursday abruptly canceled a pre-trial hearing at Guantánamo next week and said it would instead hold “other proceedings” at the war court for an alleged Sudanese terror trainer -- the strongest sign yet that the Obama administration had secured another plea agreement in its revamped military commissions.
Noor Uthman Mohammed, in his 40s, is accused of being a trainer and sometime-commander in charge of a paramilitary camp in Afghanistan where some of the 9/11 hijackers honed their skills before the Sept. 11, 2001 suicide attacks.
Study: Tiny LED holiday bulbs contain lead, arsenic
Small holiday LED bulbs, marketed as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional light bulbs, contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially hazardous substances, reports a study released Thursday.
The low-intensity red LEDs (light emitting diodes) in Christmas lighting strands had up to eight times the amount of lead allowed under California law, and while the white bulbs had less lead than the colored ones, they had high levels of nickel, according to a team of researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Davis.
Nancy Pelosi: Women's Rights Face Greatest Threat 'In Our Lifetime'
Women's reproductive rights are being seriously threatened by the Republican Party, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said she is worried that many women are complacent about the possibility that they will lose access to abortions.
"They're advancing extreme legislation," Pelosi said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. "It's dangerous to women's health, disrespects the judgment of American women -- I don't know if they even gave that a thought -- and it's the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health in our lifetime. It's that bad."
Page 658 of 1157
