UMMC Icare

The Facebook logo is visible in this 2016 file photo. Facebook has already handed over copies of the ads and information about the relevant accounts to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. (Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Facebook will share the content and related information of the more than 3,000 ads it sold to Russian-linked accounts with the House and Senate intelligence committees, the company said Thursday. “Congress is best placed to use the information we and others provide to inform the public comprehensively and completely.”
“We believe the public deserves a full accounting of what happened in the 2016 election, and we’ve concluded that sharing the ads we’ve discovered, in a manner that is consistent with our obligations to protect user information, can help.” (Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Facebook Will Give Russian Ads to House and Senate Intelligence Committees

The Facebook logo is visible in this 2016 file photo. But it had not yet given the ads to Congress, despite having told congressional investigators more than two weeks ago that it had sold more than 3,000 ads to accounts linked to a Russian troll farm between June 2015 and May 2017. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a Facebook Live event announced on short notice Thursday afternoon to discuss the decision. In a blog post published Thursday afternoon, Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said, “We believe it is vitally important that government authorities have the information they need to deliver to the public a full assessment of what happened in the 2016 election.”
“That is an assessment that can be made only by investigators with access to classified intelligence and information from all relevant companies and industries — and we want to do our part,” the post read.

Shortly thereafter Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s team released a statement saying it was his “intention” to vote next week. Kimmel is making that a key piece of his attacks. The debate helps re-engage the base/grassroots/opposition groups that played such an important role in the bill’s first defeat. What it all means: McConnell is ready to green light this — he’s made that very clear. Why are they doing this: There’s a reason, politically toxic as it is, this keeps coming up — Republicans say the mandates, this one in particular, are responsible for premium increases on younger and healthier individuals and that’s not fair. Here’s the problem: “adequate and affordable” aren’t defined. Key vote Lisa Murkowski even told CNN how excited she was to get back to Alaska and go for a long bike ride in this, the “perfect time of year” for the state (FWIW, she defined “perfect time of year” as around 50 degrees and sunny). This bill has a similar, if perhaps more incentivized mechanism for states to waive price protections for those with pre-existing conditions. The real Kimmel effect:
Ask Republican aides about whether late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s public war with Cassidy is going to have a major affect on this debate, and mostly you’ll get some iteration of “Bad PR problem for the senator, inconsequential to the bill itself.”
Or as one lobbyist put it more bluntly. 2. Graham isn’t the Senate’s majority leader, so it’s not really up to him. And it’s starting to come back to the forefront of the debate. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy. Republicans in the Senate have just nine days left before a crucial deadline to pass their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. And this bill reduces health care spending. That means our guys should love it.”
This isn’t wrong — a lot of aides scoffed at this exchange Wednesday. His floor and health care teams are fully engaged and he’s doing everything in his power to get this across the finish line. BUT: CNN reports the Kentucky Republican is taking this day-by-day. At least for now. It incentivizes them to do so, actually. Outside analysts, insurers, advocacy group say they aren’t. Those are two different things. Remember when Senators made abundantly clear they would NOT do what the House did on pre-existing conditions. There’s not going to be a scheduled vote until they have the votes or are on the cusp of having them. – Those Republican leaders are doing everything they can behind closed doors to get those votes
– The next few days are likely to be quiet in terms of news and information. Today’s required reading:
– CNN’s Tami Luhby with a cold reality: literally zero health industry/advocacy groups support Graham-Cassidy
– CNN’s Lauren Fox on the most amazing thing Senators are saying out loud: the policy may be bad, but we promised we’d do this. In exchange, a state must show it can provide “adequate and affordable” coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Guess what? On pre-existing conditions:
Cassidy and President Donald Trump say individuals with pre-existing conditions are guaranteed protection in this bill. They aren’t there yet. Republicans also say states, either via risk pools or other mechanisms, will have alternative methods to address price and coverage issues for those with pre-existing conditions — the same argument made in the House. “Oh Hollywood is against this? One of the people who made clear the House bill went to far on pre-existing conditions? No chance. Not acceptable. Murkowski. Here are three key takeaways:
– GOP leaders still don’t have the votes to pass a bill sponsored by Sens. Here’s a problem with that: the costs are very high. McConnell’s ‘intention’ to vote:
Graham sent everyone scurrying Wednesday when he said explicitly the Senate would vote next week on the Graham-Cassidy bill. 38.907192
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McCain, Murkowski Among Several Republicans Undecided on New GOP Health Care Bill
Senate Republicans Push Ahead With Obamacare Repeal Efforts
Republicans May Attempt Once Again to Repeal Obamacare The Senate is out of session and lawmakers themselves are back home. Outside analysts say unequivocally this opens the door to a loosening of the regulations. Who’s right? Pre-existing conditions: This is potentially a sleeping giant issue in this bill. An enormously public floor failure is not something anyone wants again. Bottom line: Graham-Cassidy puts an end to the guarantee that those with pre-existing conditions won’t face price increases because of their health problems. That’s not good news for senators. The waiver process appears hardly rigorous on its face. Reminder: Next week is supposed to be the rollout of the GOP push on tax reform. Another texted Wednesday night during Kimmel’s monologue simply: “Rolling my damn eyes.”
But here’s where this is potentially problematic for Republicans:
1. Simply wouldn’t. CNN has been explaining this for days, but here’s my take: The nuance here is important:
– Yes, the bill maintains the Obamacare ban on insurers denying someone a plan because of a pre-existing condition
– No, it doesn’t explicitly get rid of the price protections for those with pre-existing conditions (community rating)
Here’s what it does: The bill allows individual states to obtain waivers to drop the mandate for price protections.

The shooting occurred about 11:40 a.m. in the 26000 block of Highland Avenue, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. pic.twitter.com/bMyynRpw8O
— Beatriz Valenzuela (@BeatrizVNews) September 21, 2017

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-117.208651 It is unclear what led up to the shooting. Two people were injured in a shooting at a Highland pawn shop Thursday, officials said. Two people with gunshot wounds were taken to a hospital. Video from the scene showed deputies and Highland Police officers at the scene gathering information. Authorities are still collecting information about today's shooting at a Highland pawn shop that wounded two.

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The cause of an explosion that shook a West Hills neighborhood remains unclear, officials said Thursday. 34.197312
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Cause of Explosion at House in West Hills, Which Damaged 6 Homes, Still Being Investigated 21, 2017. Kareen Wynter reports for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on Sept.

Check back for updates on this developing story 

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Aaron Hernandez’s Fiancé: ‘I Don’t Think This Was a Suicide’
Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Conviction Erased by Massachusetts Judge After Suicide
New Details Released About Aaron Hernandez’s Life Behind Bars and Apparent Suicide 22, 2013, in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. (Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

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Aaron Hernandez Had CTE at Time of Suicide While Serving Prison Sentence for Murder, Attorney Says

Aaron Hernandez sits in the courtroom of the Attleboro District Court during his hearing on Aug. 22, 2013, in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Baez cited study results compiled by the Boston University CTE Center, which examined Hernandez’s brain for the neurodegenerative brain disease. (Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL star who took his life while serving a murder sentence in prison, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy — commonly known as CTE — attorney Jose Baez said Thursday. Aaron Hernandez sits in the courtroom of the Attleboro District Court during his hearing on Aug. Hernandez played for the New England Patriots from 2010 to 2012 after a standout collegiate career at the University of Florida.

“Whether it is drug addiction, bullying, poverty, disease, trafficking, illiteracy, or hunger, it is the children who are hit first and hardest in any country. Dubbed “the star of the Trump family” by the President, Trump has not yet formally revealed her platform as first lady, but aides say it’s coming “soon.”
She has so far identified women’s empowerment and access to education for women and girls as key priorities for her East Wing. 40.748876
-73.968009 Trump continues a whirlwind week, making her first solo trip abroad to lead the United States delegation to the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada, a charity started by Britain’s Prince Harry, who will also be in attendance. “As leaders of our shared global economy, we must continue to work towards gender empowerment and respect for people from all backgrounds and ethnicities, remembering always that we are all ultimately members of one race, the human race. In July, Trump joined the President on international trips to Poland, Germany and France, where she wowed the fashion world, but spoke only briefly. “We must continue to fight injustice in all its forms, in whatever scale or shape it takes in our lives. Trump has also subtly signaled other issues of interest — she has now made seven separate visits to children’s hospitals, and in early April, she visited a local shelter for abused women and children in South Florida. US First Lady Melania Trump (right) and French First Lady Brigitte Macron greet guests at a United Nations luncheon for first spouses of world leaders on September 20, 2017 (Credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
“Together, we must acknowledge that all too often it is the weakest, most innocent and vulnerable among us — our children — who ultimately suffer the most from the challenges that plague our societies,” the first lady said. “We much teach each child the values of empathy and communication,” Trump said. And as we all know, the future of every nation rests with the promise of their young people.”
Trump, hosting the other first spouses of world leaders, called on the group to help her with her cause to assist children all over the globe. In rare public remarks at a State Department event in March, Trump spoke passionately about women’s and children’s issues. First lady Melania Trump assumed the spotlight in New York Wednesday, hosting a luncheon at the United Nations, where she delivered a speech focused on a variety of issues facing children across the globe. For wherever women are diminished, the entire world is diminished with them,” she said. Together, we must declare that the era of allowing brutality against women and children is over, while affirming that the time for empowering women around the world is now. Each one of us is uniquely different,” Trump said, honoring 12 women at the 2017 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Awards. While the first lady kept a low profile since moving into the White House this June, she has ramped up her public appearances in recent weeks, hosting a dinner for the White House Historical Association last week, visiting with children at Andrews Air Force Base, and traveling to Hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida with the President in the wake of the two devastating storms.

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Wednesday’s quake hit at 4:37 p.m. The quake hit about 228 miles from Fukushima, the site of the nuclear power plant that was inundated following a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake on March 11, 2011. When two plates move against one another and produce friction, it causes energy to build up. That much more powerful quake 6 1/2 years ago was much closer to shore. When the energy is released it triggers an earthquake. Tectonic plates usually move an average of a few centimeters each year, but when an earthquake strikes, they can move several meters per second. Some researchers argue that there are certain conditions — such as hydraulic fracturing when we drill deep into the sea to extract energy resources — induce earthquakes. The death told climbed past 200 throughout the day, and rescue efforts were ongoing Wednesday. Related: ‘It’s Unusual What’s Happening’: Caltech Scientists Explain Seismic Activity Behind Mexico’s Earthquakes
The 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) Pacific Ring of Fire stretches from the boundary of the Pacific Plate and the smaller plates such as the Philippine Sea plate to the Cocos and Nazca Plates that line the edge of the Pacific Ocean. But there’s no hard scientific evidence to back this up. Search and Rescue Team Prepares to Deploy to Mexico if Needed
Video Shows Rescue of Children Found Alive in Collapsed Mexico City School Following Earthquake
Death Toll in Mexico’s Earthquake Rises, Rescue Attempts Continue Large earthquakes — which risk triggering tsunamis — also occur in subduction zones. A Caltech Seismologist Explains
A CNN graphic shows the Pacific Ring of Fire. The heat drives the plates to move. The Ring of Fire was formed as oceanic plates slid under continental plates. local time, or 8:37 a.m. About 80% of all earthquakes strike in the Ring of Fire, according to Hongfeng Yang, a seismologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. On Tuesday, a magnitude 7.1 quake hit in the state of Puebla, Mexico, on the anniversary of a 1985 quake that killed some 9,500 in the same region. Earthquakes represent the energy release from the interior of the Earth, where huge amount of heat is stored. The Japanese quake Wednesday did not appear to cause any damage, but its location and size are a reminder of the volatile nature of the so-called Ring of Fire. How did the Ring of Fire form? Volcanoes along the Ring of Fire are formed when one plate is shoved under another into the mantle — a solid body of rock between the Earth’s crust and the molten iron core — through a process called subduction. As with the Sept. West Coast, and other island nations including the Solomon Islands to the western seaboard of North and South Americas. A USGS map shows an earthquake that struck off Japan on Sept. PT, according to the U.S. Tectonic plates are massive slabs of the Earth’s crust. “It takes tens of thousands of years for the energy to build up, but only a matter of seconds for it to be released,” said Hongfeng Yang, a seismologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. People are most at risk in Chile, Japan, the U.S. 7 earthquake off the west coast of Mexico, seismologists can’t yet predict when or where earthquakes will strike, or how large they will be. Please enable Javascript to watch this video

A day after a powerful earthquake along the Pacific Ring of Fire hit Mexico, another large quake hit the same area of seismic activity on its opposite side, across the Pacific Ocean, on Wednesday: a magnitude 6.1 off the coast of Japan. Can earthquakes be predicted along the Ring of Fire? Geological Survey. These move constantly above the mantle — a layer of solid and molten rock below the Earth’s crust. Its epicenter was about 200 miles off the coast of Japan, and about 315 miles northeast of Tokyo. They are at risk because they lie on subduction zones that are locked so tectonic energy must be released by large earthquakes. How are earthquakes triggered? 36.204824
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Elite L.A. Related: What Does Mexico’s Earthquake Mean for California? 20, 2017.

For more information on Astrid, visit her website or follow her on social media. She is also the master trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood. Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Celebrity Trainer Astrid Swan joined us live a fun at home workout to celebrate football season.   The workout features football inspired conditioning moves that can be done from the comfort of your living room or by the couch on game day! Astrid’s top clients include Julianne Hough and Olivia Munn.

Brennan. Police arrested Rogelio Alvarado-Robles and Blanca Flores-Solis in that bust. Agents made a record fentanyl bust in New York and seized enough fentanyl to kill 32 million people, police said Tuesday. Fentanyl is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and is increasingly found mixed into the illicit narcotics supply in New York City. “The sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Investigators first recovered more than 140 pounds of fentanyl during a raid on a Queens apartment, along with nearly 59 pounds of fentanyl mixed with other narcotics. The amount of pure fentanyl seized could have yielded approximately 32 million lethal doses. A fentanyl dose weighing just two to three milligrams can be deadly. New York police officials provided this photo of a record number of drugs seized during a bust in September 2017. “These two investigations that led to the seizure of these drugs will undoubtedly save lives and we will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to combat this growing epidemic.”

270lbs of Fentanyl, Heroin & Cocaine with Street Value of Over $30mil Seized by NYPD, @DEANEWJERSEYDiv & @snpnyc https://t.co/3velT6zBSB pic.twitter.com/BkqOiS0CEB
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 19, 2017

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-74.005941 Officers seized nearly 270 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine worth $30 million during separate busts, KTLA sister station WPIX reported. The drug is driving a spike in fatal overdoses. The number of fatal overdoses far outpaces the number of homicides in Queens, District Attorney Richard Brown said
“We are facing a new and increasingly deadly crisis in our communities,” Brown said. Authorities also arrested four people. Investigators also recovered 55 pounds of fentanyl and heroin in a September seizure in the Bronx. They took two people — Edwin Guzman, 35, and Manuel Rivera-Santana, 32 — into custody.

A 78-year-old woman was found dead inside a health club near Chicago two days after she was last seen arriving at the facility back in July, police said on Wednesday. and 4 a.m. Finally, during the club’s brief closure period each day, it is not uncommon for members to be completing their workouts and using bathroom facilities before departing, or for our staff members to be using the same bathroom facilities.”
The family’s attorney, Mark Novak, told ABC Chicago the final autopsy report has not been issued and questions remain about whether Austin could have been saved if she was found earlier. Moreover, cleaning staff rotates throughout the course of the day with responsibility for cleaning varying as shift changes occur. The feet were still there after the woman returned from her workout and she alerted workers. A spokesman for Life Time Fitness, Jason Thunstrom, released a statement on Wednesday:
“We are terribly saddened by this tragedy and continue to have our heartfelt thoughts and prayers with the family. and that is when bathrooms are cleaned, according to Novak. Police and paramedics arrived and Austin was declared dead at the scene. Austin was last seen entering the club on July 12 and was never seen leaving. Another woman who used the bathroom while at the gym on July 14 noticed feet under one of the stalls, police told the Chicago Tribune. “When you lock up the front door and you see a member’s car sitting right by the entrance, I would think that it would occur to me that hey, we missed somebody, let’s go back in, somebody is still in the club.”

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-87.629798 Her car was still in the parking lot two days later, when her body was found. 20, 2017. An employee then crawled under the stall after knocking and discovered the body, according to the newspaper. The health club closes between 1 a.m. Novak also wants to know why no one noticed the woman in the bathroom. Patricia Austin is shown in a photo provided to WGN on Sept. As a large facility with several thousand members visiting daily, it is not uncommon for bathroom stalls to be occupied as staff conducts their cleaning protocol. “Two straight days with that woman remaining in that stall is inconceivable to me,” said Novak. Patricia Austin’s body was found in a restroom at the Life Time Fitness facility in Burr Ridge, a suburb of Chicago, according to KTLA sister station WGN. An autopsy showed she died from cardiovascular disease, according to WGN. Out of respect for members, cleaning staff do not disturb individuals in occupied stalls.

We can prepare together by Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, by identifying the resources in our neighborhood like knowing who is a medical doctor, who has heavy-duty tools, and by being aware of the most vulnerable people around us. In the aftermath of the Mexico earthquake, we are seeing inspiring images of people helping each other, going to the rescue of their neighbors and coworkers. When the damage caused by a large earthquake exceeds the capacity of official emergency responders, citizens become their own first responders. The views expressed here are his, as originally published by CNN. The plates off the shore of Mexico and the rest of the Pacific “ring of fire,” an area of intense seismic activity, rub against each other vertically. Preparedness is a community responsibility. Wise advice that has worked well in Mexico may fail miserably in California, and vice-versa. A rescuer pulls a dog out of the rubble during the search for survivors in Mexico City on Sept. For this reason, the impact of distant earthquakes is more dramatic in Mexico City than in California. It behaves like a bowl of jelly when it shakes. 36.778261
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Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Hits Off Japanese Coast, Along Pacific Ring of Fire
Death Toll in Mexico’s Earthquake Rises, Rescue Attempts Continue
‘It’s Unusual What’s Happening’: Scientists Explain Seismic Activity Behind Mexico’s Earthquakes First, the tectonic activity in each area is different: California sits at the boundary between two plates that rub each other horizontally. The biggest danger is caused by objects flying around due to strong shaking, and the general advice in California is to drop, cover and hold on. We should be careful to understand the different weaknesses of the built environment around us when traveling and migrating. The biggest Mexican earthquakes happen offshore and create tsunamis, but the earthquakes themselves are far from Mexico City. But earthquakes in California and Mexico differ in ways that are important to understand — if we are to learn lessons that allow us to better prepare for them in the future. The biggest Californian earthquakes happen inland on the San Andreas Fault, and as a result generate no tsunami. And if California falls, the whole of the US can fall. Here is an important lesson: We can be prepared for earthquakes as individuals, and as families, but if we’re not prepared as a community, we all sink together. Because of this difference of distance to the major fault, it is more challenging to build an earthquake early warning system for Los Angeles than for Mexico City, which means that the time available to declare a warning is much shorter in California. The safest reaction to have during an earthquake in Mexico, especially in weak constructions that are likely to collapse, can be completely different. It renders ground motion stronger and longer in duration. The second major difference is the soil upon which both cities are built. As we wake up to footage of the devastation in Mexico in the aftermath of the second earthquake that country has suffered this month, people in California might well be wondering how well-prepared their local communities are. The typical one-story wooden house in California is light and does not collapse during earthquakes. 20, 2017, after a strong quake hit central Mexico. The biggest dangers in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake are also different in both cities. Mexico City was built on a former lake, which means that its ground is soft and wet. The people of Mexico City gave the world a lesson of citizen solidarity and self-organization after the 1985 earthquake, and we’ve seen similar images from the areas hit by recent hurricanes in the US. As a result, Mexico has bigger earthquakes. For example, in California, wooden houses with public gas system have a more severe risk of fire. Finally, houses in California and Mexico are built differently. (Credit: YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Editor’s note: The author of this piece is Jean Paul Ampuero, a professor of seismology at the Seismological Laboratory at Caltech in Pasadena. Though they are smaller than earthquakes like the one we are seeing cause such devastation in Mexico, they occur dangerously close to Los Angeles. Being aware is the best way to ensure safety during earthquakes in different countries.

House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday asking them to consider new rules that would prevent foreigners from using online advertising platforms like Facebook and Twitter to influence voters. Rep. The letter was signed by Senators Martin Heinrich, Ron Wyden, Tom Udall, Elizabeth Warren, Maggie Hassan, Ben Cardin, Al Franken, Jack Reed, Ed Markey, Chris Van Hollen, Sherrod Brown, Cory Booker, Bob Menendez, Catherine Cortez Masto, Sheldon Whitehouse and Kamala Harris and by Representatives Sarbanes, John Conyers, Elijah Cummings and Derek Kilmer. Democrats on Capitol Hill are launching new efforts to prevent Russians and other foreigners outside the U.S. In response to a search warrant, Facebook has handed over copies of the ads and information about the relevant accounts to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But with three Republicans, one Independent and one Democrat on the commission, it’s unclear what steps the FEC will take. from using social media to interfere in future American elections. The sources said they were not terribly concerned about disclaimer regulations, given that it is already standard for television and radio. elections,” the letter states. Facebook sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they anticipate that Congress will seek requirements for disclaimers on online political ads. “We encourage the Federal Election Commission to take immediate steps to understand the threats posed to our democratic process by foreign influenced internet and social media advertisement, and to promulgate new guidance on how advertisement platforms can better prevent foreign nationals from illicitly spending in future U.S. There are no Republican signatories on the letter. Such disclaimers would identify the account that purchased any given ad, similar to political ads on television. John Sarbanes, the chair of the Democracy Reform Task Force, an initiative of House Democrats, told CNN the letter represented “an opportunity for the FEC to step up and show what it’s made of, to show its mettle.”
“This could be its finest hour to respond this threat to American democracy,” Sarbanes said. Political ad buyers are already expressing concerns that such requirements would not go far enough given the myriad ways of advertising on social media. “The problem with the FEC and potential regulation talk from members of Congress is that they aren’t going far enough and it seems like they’re taking a TV filter and applying it to ad spends on digital,” Chris Nolan, a Democratic political ad executive, told Axios on Tuesday. Sen. Sarbanes and his fellow signatories have asked for the FEC to respond to the letter by October 4. The efforts come two weeks after Facebook informed Congress that it had sold more than 3,000 ads to accounts linked to a Russian troll farm between June 2015 and May 2017. Mark Warner’s office is also looking at crafting legislation that would require disclaimers on who paid for advertisements, Rachel Cohen, one of his spokespeople, told CNN.

The suit alleges GEO Group uses immigration detainees to run “virtually all non-security functions” at its Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington — all while paying them next to nothing. NWDC, which has the ability to hold more than 1,500 people, is the fourth-largest immigration detention center in the country. 47.751074
-120.740139 Private detention centers and correctional facilities are a highly controversial topic. An ICE officer is shown in a file photo on February 6, 2017. While government-run prisons and detention centers do not have to abide by Washington’s $11-per-hour minimum wage law when paying detainees for their work, the attorney general’s office says no such exemption exists for private facilities. NWDC is one of 141 facilities — including prisons and detention centers — operated by GEO Group. The company “has faced a variety of lawsuits, including a class action suit by current and former detainees at a Colorado facility alleging forced labor,” Attorney General Ferguson’s press release says. “That shouldn’t happen in America, and I will not tolerate it happening in Washington.”
The complaint also alleges GEO Group paid some workers even less by instead compensating them with “snack food such as chicken, potato chips, soda and/or candy.”
GEO Group said it “strongly refutes” Ferguson’s claims, calling them “baseless” and “meritless allegations.”
Related: Private prison industry sees boon under Trump administration
“We intend to vigorously defend our company against these claims,” the company said in a statement. Still, GEO Group insists that detained NWDC workers are part of a “volunteer work program,” and that the minimum wage “associated with the program is set exclusively by the federal government.”
Related: Justice Department seeks increase in private prison beds
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Wednesday that he’s suing GEO Group, a private prison operator. And this isn’t the first criticism lobbed at GEO Group. The lawsuit demands GEO Group begin paying Washington detainees in accordance with wage laws, and that it fork over the extra profits it earned by allegedly underpaying workers. (Credit: U.S. Ferguson’s office also said detainees at NWDC have engaged in “multiple hunger strikes” to protest their living conditions. The facility is tasked with holding people that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, suspects of being in the country illegally. ICE detainees are kept at such facilities while they await court proceedings. (Credit: U.S. “As many as 750 detainees reportedly participated in one hunger strike earlier this year,” the press release states. Immigration and Customs)

A privately-run detention center is exploiting immigrants by paying them a dollar a day, Washington State’s attorney general says. “A multi-billion dollar corporation is trying to get away with paying its workers $1 per day,” Ferguson said in a statement. Detainee responsibilities range from cooking and cleaning to painting. NWDC is operated by GEO Group via a contract with the federal government. Immigration and Customs)

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ICE Detention Center Paid Imprisoned Workers Less Than $1 Per Day, Washington AG Says

An ICE officer is shown in a file photo on February 6, 2017.

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William Lievense, the 10-year-old son of a Los Angeles Fire Department captain, spent 336 days in the hospital while he waited for a life-saving heart transplant. Erin Myers reports for the KTLA 5 News at 1 on Sept. 34.097526
-118.289969 On Wednesday, the boy was recovering from that much-awaited surgery and was getting ready to go home. 20, 2017.