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PBC News & Comment: Senate Moves to Strengthen Barr’s Watchdog

As AG Bill Barr dodges allegations of abusing his office to help Trump, Senate Judiciary expands IG powers by huge majority…–after State Dept IG was fired for investigating arms sales to Suadi Arabia, White House moves to bypass Congressional approval process

–minutes before midnight deadline, Trump administration filed briefs at Supreme Court to dismantle Obamcare, with no alternative in sight

–former super lobbyist Jack Abramoff faces another stretch in prison after taking guilty plea in Bitcoin scam; our priceless interview with Jack from 2011 is here

–de-fanged Federal Elections Commission had a legal quorum for about a month, but is inactive again after commissioner resigns to work for Koch lobby

–House passes bill for DC statehood

–we have a new correspondent in Seattle, Jonah Lehto files CHOP Report

–national police lobbyist worked with Sen. Tim Scott to water down Senate policing bill, just like his predecessor did with Sen. Joe Biden in the 1990’s

–based on leaked documents, The Intercept exposes the hysterical reports from federal agencies that may have driven police violence in Minneapolis

–former FBI agent Mike German tells the truth about FBI bias toward blacks in new op-ed

–obscure federal agency Wildlife Services kills thousands of predator animals every year, but gets almost no oversight

–web security firm Symantec warns of ransomware attacks by Evil Corp and says it’s a Russian operation

–our Covid-19 update, edited by Linda Lewis; the French academic paper about drug profiteering is here JournalOfSociology

NY Times editorial slams Justice Dept. and Bureau of Prisons for Covid prison crisis

–scientists are studying the impact of reduced air pollution during lockdown

–as advertiser boycott expands, Facebook changes polices on hate speech

–while Biden gets lots of pressure to name a black woman VP, poll shows Americans don’t see VP’s race as deciding factor

–is “black” the right term to use for African-Americans”? Should it be Black?

–at The Grayzone, part 2 of excellent investigation into efforts to force out AMLO in Mexico