FBI entrapped suspects in almost all high-profile terrorism cases in USReuters / John Gress A new report by Human Rights Watch accuses the FBI of using sting operations to entrap informants, creating terrorists out of law-abiding individuals and targeting American Muslims in the agency’s counterterrorism investigations.
Largest US sentence reduction in history approved for drug offenders | Al Jazeera AmericaThe federal agency that sets criminal sentencing policies for judges voted on Friday to allow tens of thousands of inmates serving time for drug crimes to apply for reduced sentences, the largest such sentencing reduction in modern U.S. history. The unanimous vote by the seven members of the U.S.
Conscientious objector: US Navy nurse refuses to force-feed Guantanamo detaineeAFP Photo / John Moore A Navy nurse is making waves for refusing to force-feed inmates participating in hunger strikes at the prison complex in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The unidentified nurse – described by one inmate as a 40-year-old Latino – is believed to be the first conscientious objector to Guantanamo’s controversial tube feeding policy.
Obama administration says the world’s servers are oursGlobal governments, the tech sector, and scholars are closely following a legal flap in which the US Justice Department claims that Microsoft must hand over e-mail stored in Dublin, Ireland. In essence, President Barack Obama’s administration claims that any company with operations in the United States must comply with valid warrants for data, even if the content is stored overseas.
Exposed: N. Carolina cops lied about 911 calls to illegally search homesReuters / Philip Scott Andrews Questions are being asked of a North Carolina police department after an officer in the city of Durham testified that its common practice for cops there to make up excuses to illegally enter, then search, the homes of local residents. Durham Police Dept.
The Senate is giving more power to the NSA, in secret. Everyone should fight itOne of the most underrated benefits of Edward Snowden’s leaks was how they forced the US Congress to shelve the dangerous, privacy-destroying legislation- then known as Cispa – that so many politicians had been so eager to pass under the guise of “cybersecurity”.
Five men suing Obama administration after falling into ‘suspicious activity’ fileAFP Photo / Stan Honda From photographing public works of art to bulk-buying computers, five Americans now have a record on file with US intelligence agencies for carrying out everyday activities. Thousands of unsuspecting Americans are also tagged in the database.
EPIC – EPIC Challenges Facebook’s Manipulation of Users, Files FTC ComplaintEPIC Challenges Facebook’s Manipulation of Users, Files FTC Complaint EPIC has filed a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission concerning Facebook’s manipulation of users’ News Feeds for psychological research. “The company purposefully messed with people’s minds,” states the EPIC complaint. EPIC has charged that the study violates a privacy consent order and is a deceptive trade practice.
NSA sued for hoarding details on use of ‘zero day’ exploitsAFP Photo / Paul J. Richards The National Security Agency has been hit with several lawsuits since leaks began to expose its spy programs last year. Now the latest legal challenge, filed this week, finds fault with the NSA for its unwillingness to explain its use of certain exploits.
NYPD brutally arrest man on subway ‘for sleeping on way from work’ (VIDEO)A video has recorded a violent altercation erupting between a man on a New York City subway and police officers, who apparently arrested him for the crime of nodding off while commuting home for work. The incident occurs at the 57th street station stop in Manhattan in a mostly-empty carriage.
Imprisoned Occupy activist alleges medical negligence at Rikers IslandAFP Photo/Stan Honda Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was released early from Rikers Island prison complex on Wednesday – and she came out making demands. Speaking with reporters after her release, McMillan – who was originally sentenced to three months in prison for assaulting an officer during the Occupy protests – began describing the conditions inside Rikers, and the changes inmates want to see.
Free speech banned: Student group sues 4 US universities that ‘stifle dissent’Arguing that free speech is suffering at colleges across the US, an advocacy group filed lawsuits against four universities, seeking to strengthen the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Furious man confronts police after learning they killed his dog (VIDEO)Screenshot from RT video Residents in Salt Lake City, Utah are up in arms after a local police officer shot and killed a man’s beloved pet dog last month while responding to a missing child report.
High Court: Whistleblowers’ Testimony Is ProtectedThe First Amendment protects public employees from job retaliation when they are called to testify in court about official corruption, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The unanimous decision cheered whistleblower advocates, who said it could encourage more government workers to cooperate with prosecutors in public fraud cases without fear of losing their livelihoods.
Massachusetts SWAT teams claim they’re private corporations, immune from open records lawsAs part of the American Civil Liberties Union’s recent report on police militarization, the Massachusetts chapter of the organization sent open records requests to SWAT teams across that state. It received an interesting response. As it turns out, a number of SWAT teams in the Bay State are operated by what are called law enforcement councils, or LECs.
Federal judge says no-fly list rules are unconstitutionalReuters / Kevin Lamarque A federal judge in Oregon said Tuesday that the rules surrounding the use of a no-fly list managed by the United States government violates the constitutional rights of the US citizens included therein.
Cops hid use of phone tracking tech in court documents at feds’ requestFurther Reading Keeping tabs on civilian phones? There’s more than one way to skin that cat.On Thursday evening, the ACLU published a 2009 e-mail exchange (PDF) between police departments in Sarasota, Florida, and North Port, Florida, indicating that local law enforcement had concealed the use of cell phone-tracking Stingray devices in court documents.
Judge allows US Marshals’ seizure of stingray records, dimisses lawsuitFurther Reading After an ordinary stingray records request, the feds drive the files 320 miles. The American Civil Liberties Union has lost in its attempt to get the city of Sarasota, Florida, to hand over city records pertaining to the use of stingrays, or fake cell tower surveillance devices.
Vermont’s landmark GMO-labelling law target of lawsuit by food trade groupsAFP Photo / Robyn Beck A group of four national trade organizations sued the state of Vermont over its new law requiring labels on foods with genetically modified ingredients, scheduled to go into effect in July 2016. They claim the requirement is unconstitutional.
Court Rules Warrantless Cell Tracking UnconstitutionalPosted: Print Article MIAMI (AP) – Investigators must obtain a search warrant from a judge in order to obtain cellphone tower tracking data that is widely used as evidence to show suspects were in the vicinity of a crime, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.