Government

X Loses SCOTUS Appeal On Surveillance Disclosures

Reuters reports: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by Elon Musk’s X Corp to consider whether the social media company, formerly called Twitter, can publicly disclose how often federal law enforcement seeks information about users for national security investigations. The justices declined to hear X’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling holding that the FBI’s restrictions on …

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Congressional Leaders Reach Deal To Avert Shutdown

The Washington Post reports: Congressional leaders reached a $1.66 trillion agreement Sunday to finance the federal government in 2024, preserving funding for key domestic and social safety net programs in the face of GOP demands to cut the government’s budget. Now lawmakers are up against a stiff deadline to pass legislation to codify the deal and avert a partial government …

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FAA Grounds Boeing Max Planes After Panel Blow Out

CNBC reports: The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday ordered airlines to ground more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for inspections, a day after after a panel on one blew out in the middle of an Alaska Airlines flight. The emergency airworthiness directive will affect planes worldwide and applies to U.S. airlines and carriers operating in U.S. territory. Images …

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US Postal Service To Increase Rates Starting Jan. 21

The Hill reports: The price to ship your letters and packages is going up in the new year. Starting Jan. 21, 2024, the price for a First-Class Forever U.S. Postage Stamp will increase from 66 cents to 68 cents, according to the U.S. Postal Service. In addition to stamp prices increasing, the price to send priority mail and other postal …

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FBI: Murders And Violent Crime Down Sharply In 2023

The New York Times reports: Detroit is on track to record the fewest murders since the 1960s. In Philadelphia, where there were more murders in 2021 than in any year on record, the number of homicides this year has fallen more than 20 percent from last year. And in Los Angeles, the number of shooting victims this year is down …

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Census Bureau: World Population Grew By 75M In 2023

The Associated Press reports: The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year’s Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The worldwide growth rate in the past year was just under 1%. At the start of 2024, 4.3 births …

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Politicians Shrug At US Decline In Life Expectancy

The Washington Post reports: Americans’ life expectancy decline remains a pressing public health problem — but not a political priority. The Washington Post spoke with more than 100 public health experts, lawmakers and senior health officials, including 29 across the past three presidential administrations, who described the challenges of attempting to turn around the nation’s declining life expectancy. Those challenges …

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High Lead Levels Found At Ecuador Applesauce Plant

The Washington Post reports: A U.S. inspection of a plant in Ecuador that manufactured pouches of contaminated applesauce linked to at least 125 cases of suspected lead poisoning in children found “extremely high” levels of the metal in a key ingredient: cinnamon. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that samples of cinnamon from the plant that were tested contained …

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Feds Fine Southwest Record $140M For 2022 Meltdown

The New York Times reports: The Transportation Department on Monday announced a $140 million fine against Southwest Airlines over a meltdown last winter that disrupted travel for about two million people during the holiday season. Of the $140 million, Southwest Airlines will pay $35 million to the federal government. For the remaining amount, the department is giving the airline credit …

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Army To Remove Confederate Memorial At Arlington

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Army intends to remove a Confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery next week as part of its ongoing work to rid Defense Department property of divisive rebel imagery, defying dozens of congressional Republicans who have vociferously protested the move. A woman representing the American South, standing atop a 32-foot pedestal, lords above most other …

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FDA: Applesauce Lead Poisonings May Be Intentional

NBC News reports: The lead contamination in recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches that potentially poisoned at least 65 children may have been intentional, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The FDA has been investigating the lead contamination in the cinnamon-flavored applesauce products from Florida-based food manufacturer WanaBana since October. The agency has homed in on the cinnamon specifically as …

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FCC Won’t Reinstate $900M Subsidy For Musk’s SpaceX

Reuters reports: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday reaffirmed its 2022 decision to deny SpaceX satellite internet unit Starlink $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies. The FCC said the decision impacting Elon Musk’s space company was based on Starlink’s failure to meet basic program requirements and that Starlink could not demonstrate it could deliver promised service after SpaceX had …

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Feds Propose In-Car Tech To Stop Extreme Speeding

Fast Company reports: The traffic signal on North Las Vegas’s North Commerce Street had been red for at least 29 seconds, but the Dodge Challenger did not slow down. Instead, it flew through the intersection with Cheyenne Avenue at 103 mph, almost three times the 35 mph speed limit. Carnage ensued. The crash that occurred on January 29, 2022, was …

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Biden Signs Bill Funding Government Until February

NPR reports: President Biden signed a short-term government funding bill on Thursday, avoiding a potential government shutdown and pushing into next year debates about wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel. Biden’s approval came a day after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the stop-gap spending bill. The measure, designed by new House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., funds four federal agencies until Jan. …

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DOJ Expands Probe Into Tesla’s Business Practices

The New York Times reports: The Department of Justice has expanded its inquiry into Tesla’s business practices to include how far its vehicles can travel on a full charge and “personal benefits” to high-ranking executives or large shareholders, the company said without elaborating. The disclosure follows recent news reports that the carmaker appears to have misled customers about how far …

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State Dept Issues “Worldwide Caution” For US Travelers

USA Today reports: The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel advisory on Thursday, urging Americans overseas to exercise increased caution. The travel advisory cited “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests.” The State Department recommended U.S. citizens stay vigilant in locations popular with tourists, …

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State Department Warning: Reconsider Travel To Israel

CNN reports: The US State Department is warning Americans to reconsider travel to Israel in the wake of the weekend’s deadly Hamas attacks. The agency raised its travel advisory level on Wednesday to Level 3: Reconsider Travel because of civil unrest and terrorism, advising that “the situation in Israel remains dynamic; mortar and rocket fire may take place without warning.” …

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White House Staffers Advised To Expect Furloughs

Bloomberg News reports: White House staff received guidance about how they will be affected by a government shutdown, the latest sign preparations for the federal workforce are accelerating as a spending deal remains out of reach ahead of Sunday’s deadline. The White House budget office sent an email to staff Thursday saying they will be divided into three categories: exempt, …

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Federal Employees Notified Of Impending Furloughs

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. government started notifying federal workers on Thursday that a shutdown appears imminent, as a Republican-led standoff on Capitol Hill forced the Biden administration to embark on the formal, methodical process of preparing much of Washington to come to a halt. The messages acknowledged the growing risk that millions of employees and military service members …

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FTC And 17 States File Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

The Washington Post reports: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon Tuesday, a long-awaited move that seeks to bar the company from allegedly abusing its powers to raise prices for shoppers and levy high fees against businesses that sell on its platform. The FTC alleges that Amazon engages in illegal behavior …

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