1+ week, 6+ day ago (661+ words) Israel's Prison Service said it operates in accordance with the law. It declined to comment on the death count and directed any inquiries to Israel's army. The army said it is aware some detainees have died, including people with preexisting illnesses or combat-related injuries. But army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said the death count in the PHRI report is inflated, while declining to say what the army believes the real number to be. The army also said allegations of abuse or inadequate conditions are assessed, and that those who violate the army's code of conduct are punished and sometimes subject to criminal investigations. Of the 98 prisoner deaths PHRI documented since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, 27 occurred in 2023, 50 in 2024 and 21 this year, the most recent on Nov. 2. PHRI says the actual death toll over this timeframe is "likely significantly higher,…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (436+ words) Those problems, wrote Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, include "fundamental misstatements of the law" by a prosecutor to the grand jury that indicted Comey in September, the use of potentially privileged communications during the investigation and unexplained irregularities in the transcript of the grand jury proceedings. "The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted," Fitzpatrick wrote "However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding." The 24-page opinion is the most blistering assessment yet by a judge of the Justice Department's actions leading up to the Comey indictment. That case, along with a separate prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James, have stirred concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized to pursue…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago (1773+ words) Dick Cheney, the hard-charging conservative who became one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history and a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq, has died at age 84. Political analyst Scott Lucas said he would be "remembered primarily for the 2003 Iraq war, which, in one way was the pinnacle of American power." George W. Bush's vice president died Monday from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said Tuesday in a statement. In Cheney's hands, the vice presidency became a nexus of influence and manipulation " no longer the timid office whose occupants had tended their boss's ambitions, gone to endless banquets and often waited in the wings for their own shot at the prize. When he bunkered in secure undisclosed locations after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, that was less an inconvenience for Cheney than a metaphor…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (973+ words) Democrats cruised in key races across the country on Tuesday by harnessing some of the same populist fervor that helped get Trump reelected a year ago " but also by focusing on the kitchen table issues the Republican had vowed to fix. Now, as the incumbent, fears about the economy have made Trump the face of much of the public's discontent. That followed voters in the Virginia and New Jersey governor races, the New York City mayoral contest and the California ballot proposition all citing economic concerns as the top issue. Democrats swept those elections, and it was difficult to point to any major race, anywhere, where Republicans had a key victory. The reversal of fortune from a year ago was stark. Back then, voters returned Trump to the White House on the promise that he could quickly bring down inflation,…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (44+ words) Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody have surged... (Second column, 4th story, link) Related stories:Prison guard describes rampant abuse... Drudge Report Feed needs your support!" Become a Patron Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody have surged. A prison guard describes rampant abuse - AP explains...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (1756+ words) The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. Suddenly, drivers find themselves pulled over " often for reasons cited such as speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. They are then aggressively questioned and searched, with no inkling that the roads they drove put them on law enforcement's radar. Border Patrol is using hidden license plate readers to track drivers and flag "suspicious" travel patterns, an AP investigation found, raising concerns over secret surveillance. The result is a mass surveillance…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (561+ words) The reduction stands to impact thousands of flights nationwide because the FAA directs more than 44,000 flights daily, including commercial passenger flights, cargo planes and private aircraft. Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. With some calling out of work, staffing shortages during some shifts have led to flight delays at a number of U.S. airports. Citing growing staffing pressures, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency would not wait for a crisis to act "We can't ignore it," he said. Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said they would meet with airline executives later Wednesday to determine how to safely implement the reduction in flights. Until then, both declined to name the affected markets. Bedford said a list would be released sometime Thursday. "If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures," Bedford…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (908+ words) Across the military, the rate of severe accidents per 100,000 flight hours rose 55% in the 2024 budget year compared with four years earlier. The Marine Corps saw the highest increase, nearly tripling its rate over the same period. But the rising number of serious accidents has some in Congress looking for answers. The data was released to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, in January after her office asked for the figures after a spate of deadly mishaps involving the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Warren's office provided the data to the AP, which reviewed it independently. The statistics cover the full budget years 2020-2023 and then the first 10 months of the 2024 budget year, through July 31. In those 10 months of last year, 25 service members and Defense Department civilian employees were killed and 14 aircraft were destroyed. "These accident rates are incredibly troubling and demand action," Warren…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (478+ words) The airstrikes came hours after militant group Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government not to enter negotiations with Israel. Israeli Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned residents in Tayba near the border, Teir Debba located just east of the coastal city of Tyre, and Aita al-Jabal in southern Lebanon, to flee 500 meters (about 1,600 feet) away from residential buildings they are targeting, which they say have been used by Hezbollah. It later issued more warnings for the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Kfar Dounin. It accused the group of rebuilding its capabilities almost a year after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect that ended a monthslong war. While most residents evacuated the threatened areas ahead of the strikes, Lebanon's health ministry reported one person wounded. "We will not allow Hezbollah to rearm themselves, to recover, build back up its strength to threaten the…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (970+ words) Powerful Democratic former speaker Nancy Pelosi won't seek reelection to the U.S. House. Pelosi's announcement brings to a close her storied career as not only the first woman in the speaker's office but arguably the most powerful in American politics. Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, announced her decision Thursday. "I will not be seeking reelection to Congress," Pelosi said in a video address to voters. Pelosi, appearing upbeat and forward-looking as images of her decades of accomplishments filled the frames, said she would finish out her final year in office. And she left those who sent her to Congress with a call to action to carry on the legacy of agenda-setting both in the U.S. and around the world. "My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power," she said. "We have made…...