Julia Conley

In ‘Chilling’ Attack on Press Freedom, Trump’s DOJ Seizes Records of Reporter

“This decision by the Justice Department will endanger reporters’ ability to promise confidentiality to their sources and, ultimately, undermine the ability of a free press to shine a much-needed light on government actions.”

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
James Wolfe, center, former director of security with the Senate Intelligence Committee, escorts former FBI director James Comey to a secure room to continue his testimony on the 2016 election and his firing by President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington,June 8, 2017. J. Scott Applewhite | AP

Crossing a line that the Obama administration was previously attacked for breaching, the Department of Justice seized the phone and email records of a national security reporter at the New York Times in the Trump administration's effort to stop government

Read Full Article

Did Zuckerberg Lie to Congress? Facebook Gave Apple, Amazon and Others Unprecedented Access to User Data

The tech giant has allowed cell phone and device makers access to Facebook users’ and their friends’ data, without explicit consent.

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

At least one member of Congress regarded new information about Facebook's data-sharing partnerships with tech companies as evidence that the company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, lied to lawmakers in April about the control users have over their information on the social media

Read Full Article

As Civil Rights Cases Are Dismissed, National Groups Take on DeVos

“These were all complaints that were legitimate. I guess we have selective civil rights in the United States now.”

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

Weeks after civil rights advocates began receiving notifications from the Department of Education that their cases regarding discrimination in schools were being dismissed, three national groups filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing that the department's new complaint guidelines are undermining its own obligation to investigate civil rights

Read Full Article

DOJ Report: Purdue Pharma Knew of Opioid Abuse After Releasing OxyContin

Almost immediately after releasing OxyContin in 1996, Purdue Pharma received reports that patients were crushing and snorting the drug and stealing it from pharmacies.

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
Pills persciption pharma OpioidPills prescription pharma Opioid

As lawsuits mount against the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma over its knowledge that one of its best-selling drugs was addictive and dangerous, a newly- uncovered Justice Department report shows that the multi-billion dollar corporation also knew that patients were abusing OxyContin shortly after the drug's release. Almost immediately

Read Full Article

Iran Issues Reminder That US is the World’s “Top Criminal with Regard to Missiles”

The Trump administration has spent much of the past year and a half demanding that other countries, including Iran and North Korea, end their respective nuclear programs, despite the fact that the U.S. and Russia hold more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons.

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
nuclear weapons program

A top Iranian military commander responded on Tuesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's demand that Iran end its domestic nuclear energy development, with a stern reminder that the United States has shown itself as the world's most dangerous and violent military and nuclear power. "Who are you and America to tell us to limit the range of

Read Full Article

Trump’s Message to Immigrants: If You’re Poor, Now or Ever, You Don’t Belong Here

Immigrants applying for green cards would be considered a “public charge” and would likely be passed over if they’ve used—or are deemed likely to use—government resources including Medicaid and SNAP benefits

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
Protesters listen to an speaker as the hold signs during a rally against President Donald Trump's order cracking down on immigrants living in the US at Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. (AP/Andres Kudacki)

A new proposal by the Trump administration sends a clear message to immigrants—low-income individuals and families need not apply for permanent residence. A draft proposal leaked to the Washington Post states that immigrants with visas who are applying for green cards could be passed over if they use Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act

Read Full Article

Independent Media Slams Facebook’s Plan to Act as Gatekeeper of ‘Trustworthy’ News

Progressive and independent journalists are raising grave concerns this week about Facebook’s plan to fashion itself as an arbiter of what news outlets should be deemed “trustworthy.”

Julia Conley
By Julia Conley
Facebook's Secret Censorship Rules Protect White Men From Hate Speech But Not Black Children

Progressive and independent journalists are raising grave concerns this week about Facebook's plan to fashion itself as an arbiter of what news outlets should be deemed "trustworthy"—arguing that the social media giant's new proposal will punish non-corporate news sources and journalists offering left-leaning news analysis that it finds to be

Read Full Article