Government

House Approves Spending Bill To Avert Govt Shutdown

Reuters reports: The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation funding a broad swath of the federal government through the fiscal year that began in October, as yet another threat of a partial shutdown looms. The House voted 339-85 for the bill with 83 Republicans in opposition. It now goes to the Senate for passage by Friday, before …

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CDC Drops Five-Day Isolation Guidance For COVID

CNN reports: People who test positive for Covid-19 no longer need to routinely stay away from others for at least five days, according to new guidelines from the CDC issued Friday. The change ends a strategy from earlier in the pandemic that experts said has been important to controlling the spread of the infection. The agency says it’s updating its …

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Senate Votes To Fund Government Through March 8

The Guardian reports: The Senate has passed a short-term funding bill following a House vote on Thursday evening, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown that was due to occur this weekend. Ahead of the Senate vote, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, addressed the chamber floor, saying that he saw “no reason this should take a very long time”. The temporary …

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NYT: Short-Term Deal Struck To Avert Govt Shutdown

The New York Times reports: Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they had agreed to another short-term stopgap spending bill to head off a partial government shutdown at the end of the week, paving the way for a temporary path out of a stalemate that has repeatedly threatened federal funding over the past six months. The deal, initially floated by Speaker …

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Florida DOH Attacks “Politicizing” Of Measles Outbreak

The right wing Florida’s Voice reports: The Florida Department of Health scathed media outlets for false reporting and “politicizing” on new measles cases in multiple schools across the state. There have reportedly been at least 10 cases, and some have slammed the department and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for urging parental discretion on determining whether to keep their child home …

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Feds Fine Family Dollar $41 Million For Rat Infestations

NBC News reports: Family Dollar Stores was this week ordered to pay $41.6 million for using a rodent-infested warehouse to distribute food, cosmetics and medical devices to more than 400 stores across the South. The largest criminal penalty of its kind comes after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation found “live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, …

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Feds Sue To Block Merger Of Kroger And Albertsons

CBS News reports: The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal could result in higher prices for millions of American consumers. The FTC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon, alleging that the deal is anticompetitive and could harm shoppers by boosting prices …

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FTC Moves To Ban AI Impersonation Of Individuals

Axios reports: Federal regulators are poised to ban the impersonation of anyone, aiming to thwart scams in an AI-driven world. An imminent onslaught of deepfake video and audio is creating a sense of urgency to protect consumers. The FTC announced Thursday that it’s proposing to modify a rule that already prevents the impersonation of government and businesses to include the …

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Super Bowl Security: Drones, Dogs, And Lots Of Feds

NBC News reports: Super Bowl LVIII will feature a tough defensive scheme that has nothing to do with a football. This one is about stopping drones. The NFL and federal law enforcement officials are taking a hard line Sunday to keep players and fans safe from unauthorized drones at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas where the Kansas City Chiefs will …

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Feds: Insurers Can’t Use AI To Deny Medicare Coverage

Ars Technica reports: Health insurance companies cannot use algorithms or artificial intelligence to determine care or deny coverage to members on Medicare Advantage plans, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified in a memo sent to all Medicare Advantage insurers. The memo—formatted like an FAQ on Medicare Advantage (MA) plan rules—comes just months after patients filed lawsuits claiming …

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FCC Declares AI-Generated Voices In Robocalls Illegal

CBS News reports: The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday declared the use of voice-cloning technology in robocalls to be illegal, giving states another tool to go after fraudsters behind the calls. The ruling takes effect immediately and comes amid an increase in such calls due to technology that offers the ability to confuse people with recordings that mimic the voices …

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Former CIA Engineer Gets 40 Years In Wikileaks Case

Axios reports: A former CIA software engineer who was convicted of carrying out the largest data breach in the agency’s history was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced. Joshua Adam Schulte’s “transmission of that stolen information to WikiLeaks is one of the largest unauthorized disclosures of classified information in the history of the …

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US Issues Violent Crime Advisory On Travel To Jamaica

From the US Embassy in Jamaica: The State Department has recently changed the Travel Advisory for Jamaica. Reconsider travel to Jamaica due to crime and medical services. U.S. government personnel under Chief of Mission (COM) security responsibility are prohibited from traveling to many areas due to increased risk. Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, …

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DOJ: eBay To Pay $59 Million For Selling Pill Presses

From the Justice Department: eBay Inc., an e-commerce company headquartered in San Jose, California, has agreed to pay $59 million and to enhance its compliance program to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in connection with thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through its website. Pill presses and encapsulating machines can be …

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Drug Ring Case Nets Feds $340 Million In Bitcoin

The Washington Post reports: A British resident accused of using the dark web to sell illicit drugs around the world has agreed to surrender bitcoin valued at hundreds of millions in what officials said is believed to be the largest seizure of cryptocurrency in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Banmeet Singh, 40, who was extradited from the United …

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New York Soon To Issue Rules On Home-Grown Weed

Gothamist reports: The Cannabis Control Board will vote on regulations that would let New Yorkers who are at least 21 years old cultivate up to six mature plants — meaning they have visible buds — and six immature plants per residence. Home cultivators would be able to keep up to 5 pounds of flower that’s been trimmed from those plants, …

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FAA Investigates After Delta Boeing Plane Loses Tire

ABC News reports: The FAA said Tuesday it will investigate after a tire under the front nose of a Delta Boeing 757 fell off one of the wheels and rolled down a nearby embankment. The incident occurred on Saturday around 11:15 a.m. local time at Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while Delta Flight 982 was taxiing before takeoff to Bogota, …

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House Votes 314-108 For Funding To Avert Shutdown

The Hill reports: The House on Thursday approved a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded through March, sending the stopgap to President Biden’s desk for his signature one day before a partial shutdown deadline. The chamber cleared the two-step continuing resolution (CR) in a 314-108 vote hours after the Senate approved the measure, punting government funding deadlines to …

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Senate Approves Funding Bill To Avert Govt Shutdown

The New York Times reports: The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to avert a partial government shutdown as Congress raced one day before its spending deadline to send President Biden stopgap legislation to fund federal agencies through early March. The 77-to-18 vote cleared the way for a vote in the House later Thursday on the measure, which would provide …

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Federal Scientists Recommend Decriminalizing Weed

The New York Times reports: Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs, federal scientists have concluded. The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued …

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