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The Obama Admin. Finally Admits Killing Four Americans

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After nearly two years of ( officially ) keeping quiet about what the whole world already knew , the Obama administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States government had indeed killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. This had been fairly common knowledge ever since the strikes occurred in 2011, but the White House, CIA, and other involved parties have maintained ( but not really ) an official policy of not acknowledging that a targeted killing program exists. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the administration had signed off on a drone strike that killed, without due process , the Al Qaeda-linked cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in September 2011 in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Wednesday, which was obtained by New York Times reporter Charlie Savage . The letter also acknowledged the killing of Samir Khan (killed in the same drone operation), Awlaki's teenage son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki ( killed in Yemen later that month), and Jude Mohammed (killed in Pakistan in November 2011). However, all except Anwar al-Awlaki were " not specifically targeted by the United States," according to Holder's letter. "Today's disclosure builds on the administration's effort to pursue greater transparency around our counter-terrorism operations," an anonymous White House official told Fox News correspondent Ed Henry. Here is Holder's letter : The letter was released the day before President Obama is scheduled to deliver a big speech on national security at the National Defense University in Washington, DC. He is expected to touch on his administration's controversial ramped-up use of drone warfare and the status of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba. The last time Obama publicly discussed US drone strikes and his administration's targeted killing program was in a Google+ "Fireside Hangout" on February 14 : First of all, I think, there's never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil . And, you know, we respect and have a whole bunch of safeguards in terms of how we conduct counter-terrorism operations outside the United States. The rules outside the United States are going to be different then the rules inside the United States. In part because our capacity to, for example, to capture a terrorist inside the United States are very different then in the foothills or mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan. But what I think is absolutely true is that it is not sufficient for citizens to just take my word for it that we are doing the right thing. I am the head of the executive branch. And what we've done so far is to try to work with Congress on oversight issues. But part of what I am going to have to work with Congress on is to make sure that whatever it is we're providing Congress, that we have mechanisms to also make sure that the public understands what's going on , what the constraints are, what the legal parameters are. And that is something that I take very seriously. I am not someone who believes that the president has the authority to do whatever he wants, or whatever she wants, whenever they want, just under the guise of counter-terrorism. There have to be legal checks and balances on it. (from: www.motherjones.com)

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Lois Lerner of the IRS Takes the Fifth

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Lois Lerner, the IRS official who was in charge of the division that targeted conservative groups, refused to testify before the House Oversight Committee today, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights. But Lerner asserted that she was guilty of no misconduct or crimes. “I have not done anything wrong,” Lerner said. “I have not broken any [...] (from: www.whitehousedossier.com)

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John McCain Is the Latest Senior Senator to Have Had Enough of Junior Ted Cruz

For two days John McCain and Ted Cruz have been fighting on the Senate floor over the rules for negotiating a budget, but, like so many fights, it's also about so much more. Cruz is being annoying about the budget, but worse, he just doesn't get the Senate. (from: news.yahoo.com)

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Anthony Weiner launches comeback bid to become NYC mayor

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Anthony Weiner knows there may be a lot of New Yorkers who would never consider voting for him again, but he says he's running for mayor because he wants to bring his ideas to the fore — and win. (from: www.lasvegassun.com)

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IRS Official Says She Did Absolutely Nothing Wrong, Then Invokes the Fifth

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As reported yesterday , IRS official Lois Lerner, who oversaw the part of the agency that looked over applications for tax exemptions for nonprofits, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and declined to answer any questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. She did give a brief statement, though. The Associated Press reports : The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the storm over the agency's targeting of conservative groups told Congress on Wednesday that she had done nothing wrong in the episode, and then invoked her constitutional right to refuse to answer lawmakers' questions. In one of the most electric moments since the IRS controversy erupted nearly two weeks ago, Lois Lerner defended herself during a brief appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The committee is investigating the agency's improper targeting of tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status from 2010 to 2012, and Lerner oversees the IRS office that processes applications for that designation. "I have done nothing wrong," said a stern-looking Lerner, sitting next to three other witnesses and reading from a written statement. "I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations and I have not provided false information to this or any other committee." There was some debate among congressmen following her statement as to whether she actually waived her Fifth Amendment rights by stating that she had done nothing wrong and broke no laws, but she was dismissed from testimony today with the understanding that she might be called back following investigation. Follow this story and more at Reason 24/7 . Spice up your blog or Website with Reason 24/7 news and Reason articles. You can get the widgets here . If you have a story that would be of interest to Reason's readers please let us know by emailing the 24/7 crew at 24_7@reason.com, or tweet us stories at @reason247 . (from: reason.com)

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Ibragim Todashev, Florida Man Shot by FBI Was About to Sign Boston Murder Confession

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So there’s that: The man shot dead by an FBI agent in Orlando, Florida early today was “about to sign a statement” admitting to a role, along with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in an unsolved triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011, two people with direct knowledge of the case told ABC News. Ibragim [...] The post Ibragim Todashev, Florida Man Shot by FBI Was About to Sign Boston Murder Confession appeared first on Riehl World News . (from: riehlworldview.com)

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Garcetti elected LA mayor after promising jobs

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — City Councilman Eric Garcetti defeated Controller Wendy Greuel to become the next mayor of Los Angeles after a caustic campaign in which he depicted his fellow Democrat as a pawn of powerful labor bosses. (from: news.yahoo.com)

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Hagel directs Pentagon to seek new software for health records

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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Wednesday directed that the Pentagon develop– via competitive bid –new healthcare management software that would better integrate military health care records with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The inability of the Department of Defense … Continue reading → (from: www.washingtonpost.com)

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Liberal Journalists Alter, Shear Rip White House Over AP Scandal

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Conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt featured two liberal journalists on his nightly program this week, and both joined the chorus of media outrage at the Obama administration over the Justice Department’s recent AP probe. Bloomberg View’s Jonathan Alter called Eric Holder’s explanation of the probe “ pathetic ” and suggested that President Obama should “ apologize to journalists ” over the scandal, while Michael Shear of the New York Times was frosted by the “absolutely chilling” way that the Obama/Holder DOJ has treated journalists like criminals. Just last week, Alter fretted over the administration’s scandals with Chris Matthews on Hardball, claiming that White House staffers had “an unhealthy love” for Obama. On Wednesday, Alter blasted the administration for their “ especially aggressive ” attitude towards reporters , calling the Justice Department’s recent actions “ disturbing ." read more (from: newsbusters.org)

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U.S. Stocks Rise Before Bernanke Testimony, Fed Minutes

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U.S. stocks rose, after equity benchmarks climbed to record highs yesterday, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s testimony on the economy and the central bank’s asset purchases. (from: www.bloomberg.com)

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Judge apologizes for lack of transparency in James Rosen leak probe

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The chief judge of the District’s federal court issued an unusual order Wednesday, apologizing to the public and the media for not making certain court documents widely available online. The gesture of transparency by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth comes at a time when the Obama administration is under scrutiny for an unprecedented number of leak investigations, including one showing that the Justice Department had secretly probed the news-gathering activities of Fox News reporter James Rosen. Read full article (from: www.washingtonpost.com)

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Obama to visit tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town

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President Obama will travel Sunday to tornado-ravaged Moore, Okla. (from: feeds.foxnews.com)

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Can Obama End the 'Forever War'?

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In what is being billed as a major speech Thursday, President Obama is expected to lay out the "next phase" in America's nearly 12-year-old war against al-Qaida, possibly including a plan to clear out the Guantanamo Bay prison by trying or repatriating detainees there. What Obama is less likely to spell out is exactly how he's going to end what the State Department's former legal counsel, Harold Koh, recently called "the forever war." (from: news.yahoo.com)

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Austerity is a task for another day, IMF tells George Osborne

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International Monetary Fund advises chancellor to defer cuts programme and instead stimulate faltering economy Hit the austerity pause button. Invest more in social housing, schools and road repairs. Growth is more important in the short term than deficit reduction. Couched in suitably polite language, that was the uncomfortable message from the International Monetary Fund to George Osborne . The chancellor could take some comfort from the fact that the fund was rather more diplomatic about his economic strategy than it was in Washington a month ago, but not all that much. For the past couple of weeks, the government has done its utmost to persuade the IMF that Britain should stick to its current budgetary course. Osborne has tried. The chief secretary Danny Alexander has tried. Sir Mervyn King has tried. They have all failed. After three years in which it first strongly supported Osborne's austerity programme, then had second thoughts when the economy sank into a double-dip recession, the IMF has finally had enough. It wants further fiscal tightening postponed until the economy is strong enough to take it. That is, of course, precisely what Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has been saying, which is why the fund's recommendations in its annual "Article IV" health check on the UK are a political problem for Osborne. The countdown began a year ago when the fund said that the chancellor should be ready to change course if the economy weakened. Then in April, amid speculation that Britain was about to enter a triple-dip recession, the fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said it was time for Osborne to rethink plans to reduce Britain's structural budget deficit by 1% of GDP this year. The chancellor was particularly irked at suggestions that the UK was "playing with fire", pointing out that the government had already shown flexibility in its deficit reduction strategy and had introduced measures to stimulate growth. The fund remains unconvinced. At a press conference hosted by the Treasury yesterday, its deputy managing director, David Lipton, fleshed out Blanchard's critique: the fund is unhappy about the £10bn Osborne is taking out of the economy through spending cuts and tax increases this year and wants them offset by investment in infrastructure and tax measures to help business. Lipton's argument is simple. Britain may have avoided a triple-dip recession, but the economy remains extremely weak and unemployment too high for comfort. While the government's determination to tackle the budget deficit back in 2010 was understandable, with the benefit of hindsight, it cut capital spending too aggressively. There are already two major headwinds facing the economy – the recession in Europe and a banking system that is repairing its balance sheets. It doesn't need Osborne to add a third with his £10bn of tax and spending measures. A bit of extra spending now would not only boost demand, according to the IMF, it would also improve the long-term supply capacity of the economy. What's more, with interest rates on government debt at historic lows, it would be dirt cheap. The fund's forecast for UK growth this year currently stands at 0.7%, but it believes that could be raised to 1.2% or 1.3% if Osborne deferred his planned £10bn of tightening to another year. This is bog-standard Keynesian analysis. In the medium term, the IMF does think that the deficits need to be addressed, just as Keynes did. What's at issue is the timing, and the fund says now is not the time for more austerity. Two questions arise from the fund's analysis. The first is how much extra Osborne would have to borrow. Lipton refused to be drawn, but it would be less than the £10bn the chancellor is taking out of the economy this year, due to so-called multiplier effects. The IMF believes that a pound spent on public investment will have more of an impact on growth than, say, a pound saved by cuts to day-to-day spending at the Home Office. On some estimates, £5bn might do the trick. The second question is how the chancellor will respond. Infrastructure will be a focus for next month's spending review, the chancellor has said. But the spending review will not affect decisions until 2015-16. The IMF will be hoping for action sooner than that. Recession Austerity Economics Public sector cuts Public finance Government borrowing International Monetary Fund (IMF) George Osborne Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (from: feeds.guardian.co.uk)

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Apple’s Taxes Expose the Rotten U.S. Code

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When Apple Inc.’s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, bragged to a U.S. Senate subcommittee this week about his company’s culture of innovation, he probably hoped people would think of Apple’s gadgets, not its tax strategies. (from: www.bloomberg.com)

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Anthony Weiner launches comeback bid to become NYC mayor

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Labor board nominees advance

Labor board nominees advance Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 8:39 am, Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Most Republicans senators on the panel voted against two of the Democratic nominees because they are currently sitting on the board as recess appointments. A federal appeals court has ruled that their appointments were unconstitutional, and GOP lawmakers say they should have stepped down. (from: www.sfgate.com)

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IRS Official Says She Did Absolutely Nothing Wrong, Then Invokes the Fifth

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Jay Carney Accuses GOP of Politicizing Scandals—Brings Up Birtherism [Video]

White House press secretary Jay Carney caught the White House press corps off guard on Tuesday when he brought up the subject of Obama’s birth certificate, as an example of how, in his opinion, the GOP has politicized the various scandals engulfing the administration. Carney was responding to a question that CBS’s Major Garrett asked [...] (from: www.aim.org)

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McCain Snaps Over GOP Roadblocks

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Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) blasted his GOP colleagues for grandstanding on the budget, Ezra Klein notes. "The quick background here is that congressional Republicans have spent years calling for a return to 'regular order' in which the House writes a budget, the Senate writes a budget, and the two chambers move to a conference committee to hash out their differences. This year, for the first time since 2009, Senate Democrats wrote and passed a full budget, shepherding it to passage through an open amendment process. Now various Senate Republicans are blocking the move towards conference -- blocking, in other words, the move towards the regular order they demanded." McCain unloaded last night: "What are we on my side of the aisle doing? We don't want a budget unless we put requirements on the conferees that are absolutely out of line and unprecedented?" (from: politicalwire.com)

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