CIA torture psychologists face court hearing over ‘war crimes’ by black site detaineesFormer detainees tortured by the CIA at the agency’s notorious black sites are suing the psychologists hired to help design the controversial enhanced interrogation program, accusing them of enabling “war crimes” and “human experimentation.” The psychologists, James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, will appear in federal court in Spokane, Washington on Friday.
Baltimore cops sued over brutality, unlawful arrests during Freddie Gray protestsBaltimore police abused and violated the constitutional rights of six people who they arrested during the unrest provoked by Freddie Gray’s death in police custody, according to a new lawsuit filed by the men who were detained.
Fantasy Math Is Helping Companies Spin Losses Into ProfitsCompanies, if granted the leeway, will surely present their financial results in the best possible light. And of course they will try to persuade investors that the calculations they prefer, in which certain costs are excluded, best represent the reality in their operations. Call it accentuating the positive, accounting-style.
WATCH: Creating hallucinations without drugs is surprisingly easyThe human brain is a remarkable thing. It can do things our primate relatives are thousands – maybe even millions – of years of evolution away from, and our most complex machines are not even close to competing with our powers of higher consciousness and ingenuity.
Every Market Is Manipulated … See For YourselfDeutsche Bank admitted today that it participated with other big banks in manipulating gold and silver prices. In 2014, Switzerland’s financial regulator (FINMA) found “serious misconduct” and a “clear attempt to manipulate precious metals benchmarks” by UBS employees in precious metals trading, particularly with silver.
DOJ faces legal fight with EFF over US govt ‘secret’ surveillance requestsA digital rights group is suing the US Justice Department over secret court orders it suspects are being used to force tech companies to unlock devices. The lawsuit asks the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court for a disclosure of all such requests.
Only 6% of Americans trust the media – surveyAs accusations of bias fly during an election year, a new report shows that Americans have serious misgivings about the media, with only six percent saying they have “a great deal of confidence” in the press. A survey of more than 2,000 adults released on Sunday showed that trust in the media has dipped to dramatically low levels.
NY voters file lawsuit on eve of primary alleging ‘a threat to the democratic process’Hundreds of voters in New York are expected to file a lawsuit against the state Monday claiming their party affiliation was changed without their consent and they cannot vote in Tuesday’s hotly-contested primary. The lawsuit, which is being filed by Election Justice USA, calls for New York to switch to an open system allowing anyone to vote in the primaries, regardless of their party affiliation.
Cable News Devotes 30 Seconds to Mass Arrests Protesting Political CorruptionTHE DEMOCRACY SPRING, a protest movement calling on Congress to “end the corruption of big money in our politics” and “ensure free and fair elections,” converged on Capitol Hill on Monday, staging a nonviolent sit-in that resulted in over 400 arrests – a massive number by Washington sit-in standards.
Hackers use Congressman’s iPhone to demo ability to listen into calls, monitor texts, track location [Updated]Update: Rep. Ted Lieu has now written to the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requesting a formal investigation into the vulnerability. In his letter, the Congressman says that the flaw threatens ‘personal privacy, economic competitiveness and U.S. national security.’
Microsoft sues DoJ over gag laws blocking customers from knowing govt got their dataMicrosoft has filed a lawsuit against the US Justice Department claiming the government’s authority to block technology companies from notifying customers when their personal data has been accessed is unconstitutional.
‘Not credible’: Big 5 US banks lack disaster-readiness, violate Dodd-Frank Act, regulators sayWary of a repeat of taxpayer bailouts for “too big to fail” banks, the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a first-time joint statement criticizing five top banks’ strategies for avoiding bankruptcy as “not credible.” The five banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Couple sue mortgage provider for alleged fraud, breach of contractPHILADELPHIA – A couple’s suit against their mortgage provider alleges fraud, breach of contract, and violation of various consumer-protection provisions. Joseph W. Prince and Betty Jo Prince filed a lawsuit on April 4 in the U.S.
Keeping secrecy the exception, not the rule: An issue for both consumers and businesses – Microsoft on the IssuesThis morning we filed a new lawsuit in federal court against the United States government to stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression.
Why You Should Care About Big Banks Cutting Deals with the Feds to Avoid Prosecution | VICE | United StatesGoldman Sachs Group headquarters stands in New York. John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images On Monday, Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs agreed to shell out more than $5 billion for deceiving investors and contributing to the 2008 financial crisis.
Justified police shootings swept under the rugDespite scrutiny over use of lethal force, dozens of police killings are being ruled as justified without public knowledge. The lack of transparency is troubling – especially for the families of victims whose deaths remain unresolved for years later. The first three months of 2015 saw 289 people die by police lethal force, according to the Guardian.
Lawsuit says banks improperly failed to inform consumers about extra interestFor years it was widely considered a massive, government-sanctioned rip-off of home-mortgage borrowers. Then it was banned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And now it’s the subject of class-action suits that accuse four large banks of illegally collecting millions of dollars in excess mortgage-interest payments from their customers.
Goldman Sachs Finally Admits it Defrauded Investors During the Financial CrisisInvestment banking giant Goldman Sachs has agreed to a list of “facts” in addition to paying $5.1 billion to settle a lawsuit related to its handling of mortgage-backed securities leading up to the 2007 financial crisis, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Goldman Sachs, US settle for $5b over bunk mortgages sold in run-up to 2008 crisisGlobal investment banking firm Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a more than $5 billion settlement over its deceptive sales of mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
Wells Fargo Agrees To Blockbuster Mortgage Settlement(Reuters) – Wells Fargo admitted to deceiving the U.S. government into insuring thousands of risky mortgages, as it formally reached a record $1.2 billion settlement of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit. The settlement with Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. mortgage lender and third-largest U.S.