February 13 and 14, 2018


News and Views


THIS IS ANOTHER MAJOR SHOOTING –AT LEAST 17 WERE KILLED TODAY IN ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING AND MANY MORE ARE WOUNDED. THE SHOOTER, A MALE STUDENT PREVIOUSLY ENROLLED THERE, HAD BEEN PLACED IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL. MANY TIMES THOSE SCHOOLS ARE HARSH ENVIRONMENTS AND AT THE SAME TIME, DON’T GIVE A NORMAL EDUCATION. I’M NOT SAYING THAT TO EXCUSE THE YOUNG MAN, BUT AS A BACKGROUND PICTURE TO WHAT OCCURRED. HE USED AN AR-15, AND AFTER A NUMBER OF HOURS, WAS CAUGHT IN A NEARBY TOWN. HE WAS TAKEN AWAY IN AN AMBULANCE, POSSIBLY FOR MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION. ONE OF HIS CLASSMATES SAID THAT HE “ALWAYS HAD ISSUES.” ONE OF THE ARTICLES SAID THAT HE HAD THREATENED OTHER STUDENTS. THAT MAY BE THE REASON WHY HE WAS PLACED IN THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-presence-at-marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-in-florida-live-updates/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS February 14, 2018, 2:56 PM
Police respond to report of shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida -- live updates

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Authorities are responding to reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

The Broward Sheriff's Office said there are reports of victims. At least 20 people have been injured, a local fire department told CBS Miami.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

CBS4 Miami
✔
@CBSMiami
Students are being let out of the school with their hands up in the air. Latest: http://cbsloc.al/2GaRtDZ @ERodCBS4 @RickFolbaum #Parkland #Florida

3:15 PM - Feb 14, 2018
5
29 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

The shooter is still at large, the sheriff's office said via Twitter.

The White House said President Trump has been briefed on the shooting and is monitoring the situation.

Students at the school were being evacuated to West Glades Middle School Wednesday afternoon.

fla-school.jpg
Emergency workers at the scene of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Coral Springs, Florida, Feb. 14, 2018. WSVN

SWAT teams were seen entering the campus with canines. A number of people could be seen being loaded into ambulances on a stretcher, reports CBS Miami. Students were seen being led across the street with their hands over their heads.

Officers asked people to avoid the area. The Coral Springs Police Department told teachers and students to remain barricaded inside until police reach them.

CBS Miami's Rick Folbaum was speaking over text message with a student at the school who is hiding in a closet.

"All of a sudden there was a really loud noise…..people are crying the closet," the student wrote to him.


Coral Springs Police
✔
@CoralSpringsPD
AVOID THE AREA - Do not attempt to get to the school this perimeter is LOCKED down. https://twitter.com/wsvn/status/963861452678246401 …

2:46 PM - Feb 14, 2018
86
294 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
This is a developing story and will be updated.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



TODAY, WE HAD ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL GUN MASSACRE, BY AN 19 YEAR-OLD YOUNG MAN NAMED NIKOLAUS CRUZ. THIS ARTICLE GIVES SOME PERSONAL DETAIL ABOUT HIM, AND HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE MORE TOMORROW. SOME OF THE OTHER KIDS WERE APPARENTLY AFRAID OF HIM, BUT I GET A LITTLE GLIMPSE OF THEIR POSSIBLY MAKING FUN OF HIM, OR WHAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE THAT TO HIM. KIDS THAT AGE ALWAYS THINK THEY’RE “JUST HAVING FUN.” SO FAR, HOWEVER, THERE IS VERY LITTLE INFORMATION TO GO ON. I’LL TRY TO FIND SOME MORE TOMORROW.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/14/nicolas-cruz-identified-as-florida-high-school-shooting-suspect-reportedly-showed-warning-signs.html
HOMICIDE 35 mins ago
Nikolaus Cruz, identified as Florida high school shooting suspect, reportedly showed warning signs
By Nicole Darrah | Fox News
February 14, 2018

Photograph -- The Florida high school shooting suspect, Nikolaus Cruz, had been expelled from the school, according to the sheriff. (WSVN)

The suspected gunman arrested in connection with Wednesday's shooting at a Florida high school which left at least 17 people dead, was identified by the sheriff as 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz.

The suspect, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, had been expelled for disciplinary reasons, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

PARKLAND HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: AT LEAST 17 KILLED, SUSPECT IN CUSTODY, FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS

Superintendent: 'Numerous fatalities' in school shooting

Broward County Public Schools superintendent Robert Runcie holds news conference on shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

While some teachers said he demonstrated warning signs, Superintendent Robert Runcie said he was not aware of any specific warnings the school district had received regarding the shooter.

An Instagram page apparently belonging to Cruz showed pictures of guns and knives. The sheriff's office said Wednesday the suspect had an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and multiple magazines.

One student told WJXT that “everyone predicted” the shooting, which killed multiple people, according to police.


Vic Micolucci WJXT
✔
@WJXTvic
"Everyone predicted it," a student said about the #Parkland shooting.

5:17 PM - Feb 14, 2018
4,208
2,327 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

“Honestly, a lot of people were saying it was gonna be him,” the unnamed student told the news station. He said kids joked around that the student would be the one to “shoot up the school.”

More on the Parkland high school shooting...
Recent school shootings in the US
Students describe scene inside Parkland, Florida high school

'I didn't want to look at anything': Students react to Florida school shooting

“It turns out, everyone predicted it,” the student said, adding the suspect knew the layout of the school.

“Yeah, he was on the third floor. He knows the school layout, he knows where everyone would be at as of right now,” the student said. “He’s been with us in fire drills, he’s prepared for this stuff.”

Another student told WSVN that the suspect is a "troubled kid" who has "always had a certain amount of issues going on."

"He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling," the unnamed student added.

A teacher at the high school told the Miami Herald the suspect was seen as a potential threat in the past, as he allegedly threatened students last year.

“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Jim Gard, who claimed to be a former teacher of the suspect’s, told the Herald. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.”

Another student told WSVN he “stayed clear of [the suspect] most of the time."

“My time in alternate school, I did not want to be with him at all because I didn’t want to cause any conflict with him, because of the impression he gave off,” the student said of the shooter.

Nicole Darrah covers breaking and trending news for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @nicoledarrah.



HOW TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-mental-health-experts-talk-their-kids-about-school-shootings-ncna845586
What mental health experts say to their kids about school shootings
How to help your kids feel safe when their world feels out of control.
by Nicole Spector / Feb.14.2018 / 5:18 PM ET

Photograph -- Perhaps the most troubling issue for parents is that part of their job is to help their children feel safe in a world that can turn deadly in an instant.Damian Dovarganes / AP

Like mass shootings in general, school shootings have gone from being a rare tragedy to a tragic reality. Already in 2018 there have been at least 17 instances of gun violence in U.S. schools, including the shooting Wednesday at a high school in Parkland, Florida. In one recent attack at a Kentucky middle school, two children were killed and 18 others were wounded when a fellow student opened gunfire. When I saw the news, I felt the all too familiar sinking in my gut, the clench of anxiety in my throat as thoughts of the victims and their families careened through my mind. I took a moment to do my version of praying for those affected and to ponder a question that has been on my mind since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012: How can you possibly explain these shootings to your kids and how to do you talk about it?

I put these questions to mental health experts who are also parents dealing with these concerns at home. Here are their best strategies to keep the lines of communication open and your own emotions in check.

HAVE YOUR OWN SUPPORT SYSTEM AND SELF-CARE RITUALS

For your own sake and your children’s, it’s critical that you make time to quell your own anxieties before diving into the issue at hand.

“To have these conversations open and honestly you need to take care of yourself as a parent,” says Kristin Wilson, a licensed professional counselor and clinician with a teenage daughter. “Have your own support system in a spouse or friend or another go-to person, so that when you're talking to your child you've already processed through it.”

Wilson adds that she experienced her own scare when her daughter’s school was on lockdown for over six hours due to the possibility of a shooter. She found out on the news, when it was leaked to a local media network.

To have these conversations open and honestly you need to take care of yourself as a parent.

“I was on the phone with my partner and my friends trying to process everything,” she says. “Having your own support group is important as is indulging in self-care so you're not so reactionary. Yoga, mindfulness practice, exercise and really anything you can do to better your mental health is essential, because sadly, this is a reality now.”

LET YOUR KIDS TAKE THE LEAD

You may be unsure where to even begin with such a heavy topic. Consider asking your kids what their questions are before you give your two cents.

“It is often best to let your child take the lead in asking questions about difficult situations so that you only share what you feel is necessary to satisfy their inquiries,” says Dr. Allison Agliata, a clinical psychologist, head of an independent middle school in Tampa Bay and the mother of three children ages 12 and younger. “Otherwise, as parents, we tend to either share too little and leave them wondering, or over-explain and freak them out.”

SET A TIME TO TALK DAILY OR WEEKLY WITH NO SCREENS

Most of the mental health experts I spoke with strongly recommended having screen-free routine family time, and using that time to talk one-on-one with your kids about school shootings and any other issues that may be top of mind. For Wilson, this means a daily check-in at the dinner table.

Consider asking your kids what their questions are before you give your two cents.

“Sometimes my check-in is as simple as, ‘How was school today?’ And other times it’s a more uncomfortable topic about drugs and alcohol or school violence,” says Wilson, adding that this longstanding ritual has enabled her daughter to always count on this time to talk, trusting that it’s a space to discuss both the good and the bad. “If you set the groundwork early, they will naturally come to you with concerns as well as really awesome things.”

And it doesn’t have to be at the dinner table. Christopher Gerhart, a licensed and certified substance abuse counselor finds that he and his preteen daughter have their best talks about serious matters such as gun violence while he walks her to school. Kelley Kitley, a licensed clinical social worker talks with her four kids ages 11 and under individually at bedtime.

“For us it's a lot calmer. Our household is chaotic [during the day], but at that time lights are dim. It’s usually about 15 minutes each and they really look forward to it,” Kitley says. Dr. Agliata has found bedtime works best for her family as well adding, “we reflect on the day and they have some one on one time with me to share their thoughts.”


One-Minute Meditation Routine
01:13

TEACH THEM HOW TO DE-STRESS WITH BREATH-WORK AND GRATITUDE

The choice to talk deeply to kids at bedtime could have parents asking, “Can’t that create anxious thoughts?” Not if your kids are equipped with de-stressing mechanisms such as deep breathing exercises.

“They lay on the bed, hands on tummy inhaling through their nose, then blowing out like they’re putting out a candle,” says Kitley of the technique she teaches. “And they take five long deep breaths.”

After talking, Kitley also has her kids focus on the stuff they enjoy rather than the stuff they fear.

“I say, ‘think of five things you really loved about your day.’ It’s a way of acknowledging that, yes, bad things happen to good people but let’s be grateful for where we are. It’s not avoiding, but rather validating how they’re feeling and understanding what is our reality right now.”

ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO FEEL THEIR FEELINGS

If your child is really upset about this or other issues, that’s okay too. Allow them to experience those feelings rather than to suppress them.

“[My son] is inundated with violent videos being shared on Snapchat of fights at school,” says Lynn Zakeri, a licensed clinical social worker and the mother of two adolescents. “I talked with him recently about allowing himself to have feelings about these videos: be overwhelmed; be worried; be sad; be scared, and then, more importantly, have empathy. These are natural responses. Allow them to happen.”

I focus on what we have control over. I don't make promises I can't keep.

DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN'T KEEP — BUT DO ASSURE THEM

Perhaps the most troubling issue for parents is that part of their job is to help their children feel safe in a world that can turn deadly in an instant.


https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/27/health/u-s-most-mass-shootings/index.html
Why the US has the most mass shootings
Jen Christensen-Profile-Image
By Jen Christensen, CNN
Updated 11:36 AM ET, Thu October 5, 2017

Photos – worst mass shootings in the USA

(CNN)When it comes to gun massacres, the United States is tragically exceptional: There are more public mass shootings in the United States than in any other country in the world, according to a study published recently.

Between 1966 and 2012, there were 90 mass shootings in the United States. Mass shootings are defined for the study as having four or more victims and don't include gang killings or slayings that involve the death of multiple family members. These shootings include the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in June 2016 -- the worst mass shooting in US history -- and others in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, both in 2012.

The 90 US mass shootings are nearly one-third of the 292 such attacks globally for that period. While the United States has 5% of the world's population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings.

"People have been a little surprised by these statistics," said Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama, who did the analysis. Lankford presented his work at the American Sociological Association's annual conference last year and said it's the first research of its kind to do a global comparison.

How US shootings are different

Lankford combed through the records of every incident and found a few common factors that set the US incidents apart from the rest of the world's.

A visual guide: Mass shootings in America

In the United States, people have a greater chance of dying in mass shootings if they're at work or at school. Overseas, these incidents typically happen near military installations.

In more than half the American cases, the shooter had more than one firearm. In global incidents, the shooter typically had only one gun.

And in the United States, there are 6.87 victims on average per incident. In the other 171 countries Lankford studied, the average was 8.8 victims per incident.

Lankford said he thinks there are fewer people killed in these mass shootings in the United States because American police routinely train on how to deal with this kind of incident, even though it happens rarely compared with other kinds of crime.

"Police were slower to respond in other countries and were more likely to be ill prepared when they did respond," he said.

The copycat phenomenon
What's behind all these mass slayings in the United States?

Many of the shooters in the United States were mentally ill, according to the data. But other studies have shown that the estimated number of cases of mental illness hasn't gone up significantly while the number of mass shootings in the U.S. has skyrocketed.

Such attacks tripled from 2011 to 2014, according to an analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University. The Harvard research showed that public attacks in that time occurred every 64 days on average. During the previous 29 years, they happened every 200 days on average. By contrast, the overall US homicide rate and rate of gun violence have dropped significantly over the past two decades.

Some researchers believe these mass killings can be contagious: One killing or shooting increases the chances that others will occur within about two weeks, an "infection" that lasts about 13 days, researchers found in another study.

The copycat phenomenon is more acute in the United States because guns are more accessible than in other countries. "(Access to) firearms (is) a significant predictor of these incidents," Lankford said.

The United States has more guns than any other country in the world. There are an estimated 270 million to 310 million firearms in circulation in the United States. With the American population at 319 million, that breaks down to nearly one firearm for every American.

Slightly more than one-third of Americans say someone in their home owns a gun, according to the Pew Research Center. The country with the next-highest number of guns is India, with 46 million guns spread across a much larger population of more than 1.25 billion. India doesn't even crack the top five among countries with the most mass shootings.

The numbers do show that more restrictive gun laws make a difference. Lankford points to Australia as an example. The country had four mass shootings between 1987 and 1996. After those incidents, public opinion turned against gun ownership and Parliament passed stricter gun laws. Australia hasn't had a mass shooting since.

A desire for fame?

There is not, however, the same political will in the United States. With one exception, Pew polls taken after many of the high-profile mass shootings suggest that Americans typically favor more gun ownership after such incidents.

What happened to the CDC's courage on guns?

Lankford does have another theory that he has been exploring with current research.

"It's harder to quantify it, but I've been struck by research that shows that being famous is one of this generation's most important goals," Lankford said. "It seems like Americans are growing in their desire for fame, and there is no doubt that that there is an association between media coverage that these offenders get and the likelihood that they will act."

People could also be looking for fame on behalf of a cause, such as Islamic jihad, he said.

"There is no doubt that terrorists want fame whether it is for a cause or for themselves, we have seen this dating back to the 1972 Olympics hostage takers," Lankford said. "If (the Orlando) attack was motivated by radical Islamic fundamentalist ideology, this would be consistent with the intolerance toward gays and lesbians and seeking fame on behalf of this cause."

The problem with this motivation is that the shooting at Pulse nightclub has now upped the ante for other mass shooters who may wish to follow.

"The fame-seeking rampage shooters will attempt to kill even more victims. We have seen this become almost a kind of competition," Lankford said. "What perhaps is most frighting [sic] is that if offenders can kill more people and get more fame, the next may try to find 'innovating' -- and I put quotes around that word, 'innovating' -- new ways to get attention."

For instance, Lankford said, no one had carried out a shooting attack in a movie theater until Aurora in 2012 but there was a similar attempt later in the same year. There have been nightclub shootings and there was a bombing at a gay nightclub in London in 1999, but not like this, he said. The concern now will be copycats who will seek similar media attention, he said.

Lankford said if anything good can come out of his work, it's knowledge that may help others prepare for the unthinkable.

"Our homicide rate is higher than comparable European nations. If anything, though, it is these kinds of attacks that make us stand out so negatively from the rest of the world and give us this violent reputation as a country," Lankford said. "Frankly, if we want to give the world a message from what we've learned from all of this, is to say that, 'It is possible, these things do happen, so be prepared and learn from it before you have a tragedy of your own.'"



SANDERS INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO RUN, BUT AGAINST HIM? HE HAS THE SAME OR VERY SIMILAR VIEWS. I DO WANT TO SEE MORE AND MORE PROGRESSIVES.

http://digital.vpr.net/post/sanders-inspires-young-people-run-office-and-gets-challenger-process#stream/0
VPR News
Sanders Inspires Young People To Run For Office — And Gets A Challenger In The Process
By BOB KINZEL • 4 HOURS AGO

Photograph -- Independent U.S. Senate candidate Brad Peacock says he's running for Sen. Bernie Sanders' seat in the U.S. Senate because Sanders is encouraging young people to get involved in politics.
BOB KINZEL / VPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders has encouraged young people to get involved in politics, and one Vermonter has answered that call — by challenging the sitting senator for his place in the U.S. Senate.

Audio from this story will be posted.

Thirty-seven-year-old Brad Peacock, an organic vegetable farmer in Shaftsbury, is an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate.

He strongly believes that health care is a right and not a privilege. He's worried that important domestic social programs are being threatened by Republican leaders in Congress, and he's very concerned about the global impact of climate change.

Those positions sound like Sanders', so why is Peacock running for the U.S. Senate? Because Sanders is telling young people that the time has come for them to get directly involved in the political process if they want to help move this country in a progressive direction.

"I have listened to him closely, and it really resonated with me when he says we need more young people in politics. And, you know, I said 'OK,'" said Peacock. “Well I think now is the time."

"I have listened to him closely, and it really resonated with me when he says we need more young people in politics. And, you know, I said 'OK.' Well I think now is the time." — Brad Peacock, independent candidate for U.S. Senate
Peacock is a graduate of UVM and has worked as a farmer for the past 12 years, and he says this experience has taught him the importance of developing sustainable farming methods and the critical role that agriculture plays in the overall Vermont economy.

Peacock is also running because he strongly believes that senators shouldn't serve more than two terms, or 12 years. He says Sanders has just reached that limit.

"We don't need career politicians," said Peacock. "We need to get back to public service."

Peacock says he hopes Sanders makes another bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. That's another reason why Peacock is running this year, because he says Vermont should have a full-time senator representing the state in Congress.

"I hope that he may [run for president] and therefore, you know, I think the people of Vermont deserve a senator for six years,” said Peacock.

Norwich University political science professor Ted Kohn says it will be extremely difficult for anyone, including Peacock, to unseat Sanders and his $6 million campaign fund this year.

"Certainly he does not have much of a chance, but I like the idea that here's somebody who perhaps hadn't thought about running before and was inspired by Bernie Sanders to run,” said Kohn. “So the irony is that Mr. Peacock is actually a creation of Sen. Sanders.”

"So the irony is that Mr. Peacock is actually a creation of Sen. Sanders." — Norwich University political science professor Ted Kohn
And Kohn says Peacock is one of hundreds of people across the country who have been inspired to run for office by Sanders.

"There are a lot of people who have been galvanized by Bernie Sanders, by his brand of progressive populism, by his appeal to young people," said Kohn.

And Kohn expects that Sanders will be actively campaigning for many of these out-of-state candidates this summer and fall.

"He could very well campaign throughout the country, and not just within the state of Vermont, and collect money and collect endorsements," Kohn says. "But ... perhaps more importantly, absolutely galvanize the Democratic base in ways that can only be good for the Democratic Party in 2018 and 2020."

Kohn says he doubts that the Vermont Republican Party will want to devote very much of its financial resources to defeat Sanders.

That's because Kohn believes the Republicans' top priority will be to re-elect Gov. Phil Scott and win some additional seats in the Legislature.

Correction 9:13 p.m. Peacock is from Shaftsbury, not Shrewsbury.



CABINET, OR MAFIA? PS, WHY DOES SCOTT PRUITT NEED SUCH AN EXPENSIVE ROUND THE CLOCK SECURITY DETAIL? THREATS, HE SAYS, BUT WHY IS HE SO THOROUGHLY HATED?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epas-scott-pruitt-got-waiver-to-fly-business-class-on-non-u-s-carrier-from-italy-to-u-s/
By JULIANNA GOLDMAN CBS NEWS February 13, 2018, 7:13 PM
EPA's Scott Pruitt got waiver to fly business class on foreign carrier from Italy to U.S.

WASHINGTON -- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been under fire for frequently flying in first and business class at taxpayer expense. CBS News has learned more about one of those flights, while Pruitt defended his expensive flights in an interview with a New Hampshire newspaper Tuesday.

In early June, Pruitt traveled to Italy for meetings at the Vatican and to attend a summit with international energy ministers. Taxpayers picked up the tab for his round-trip business-class flight, which cost at least $7,000, several times the cost of what was paid for other staffers who accompanied him on the trip.

CBS News has learned that when Pruitt returned home from Milan on June 11, he flew on Emirates Airlines, whose business class cabins are some of the world's most luxurious, complete with an onboard lounge that promises what the airline calls a "truly unique journey."

To take the flight, Pruitt needed special dispensation. Government officials are bound by the Fly America Act, which requires them to "use U.S. air carrier service for all air travel… funded by the U.S. government."

Sources have told CBS News that Pruitt regularly flies in first class along with his unprecedented, round-the-clock, security detail. The costs of their travel has not been made available.

A certificate justifying the return flight from Milan that the EPA provided to CBS News said Pruitt flew on a foreign carrier because it was the only available flight "that would get the administrator back in time" to attend a Cabinet meeting with President Trump the next day.

"It's good to be back in the United States -- I actually arrived back this morning at one o'clock from Italy, from the G-7 Summit," he told the president during that meeting.

The entire trip cost more than $43,000 dollars, according to travel vouchers obtained by the Environmental Integrity Project. To make his departing flight to Rome on June 7, Pruitt flew on a military aircraft from Cincinnati, where he had attended a rally with the president.

Two days before Pruitt went to Italy, he took an overnight trip to New York where he conducted television interviews to discuss Mr. Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement.

He also flew round trip between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and LaGuardia in New York on a shuttle flight costing $1,641.53. By contrast, the ticket for another staffer who flew with him cost $238.40.

The EPA's inspector general has been auditing Pruitt's travel and recently said the scope of the audit extends through 2017. Pruitt frequently travels to his home state of Oklahoma on the weekends and has been criticized for other costly travel, including non-commercial flights.

Oversight panel to look into officials' use of private aircraft for official travel
An EPA spokesman said, "Due to security concerns he has a blanket waiver to fly in first or business class" and that when he travels, the agency follows "the recommendations of security personnel."

But even Republicans like Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana are questioning why Pruitt routinely flies in first or business class when taxpayers are footing the bills.

"I'm sure there's some situations in terms of security where an upgrade may be appropriate," Kennedy said. "But I think as a general rule, except for the president and the VP or if you're paying for it yourself, you ought to fly coach."

Pruitt was spotted on flight to Boston Tuesday morning – in first class -- and in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, he talked about the security risks that resulted in the waivers for the more expensive classes of flights.

"Unfortunately...we've had some incidents on travel dating back to when I first started serving in the March-April timeframe," Pruitt told the paper.

"We live in a very toxic environment politically, particularly around issues of the environment," said Pruitt, who confirmed to the Union Leader that he had flown first-class from the Washington metro area to Boston to reach New Hampshire. "We've reached the point where there's not much civility in the marketplace and it's created, you know, it's created some issues and the (security) detail, the level of protection is determined by the level of threat."

Pruitt said the decisions to fly first class are not his. "I'm not involved in any of those decisions," Pruitt told the Union Leader. "Those are all made by the (security) detail."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


MORE ON PRUITT FROM HUFF PO

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-defends-first-class_us_5a836d60e4b0cf06751f8770
POLITICS 02/13/2018 07:43 pm ET
EPA Head Scott Pruitt Defends First-Class Travel, Citing Security Concerns
He said those who criticize him “just don’t know me.”
By Nick Visser

Photograph -- KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS
Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, said his security detail makes the decision to book him in premium cabins due to a “very toxic” political environment.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt defended his use of first-class and business-class travel on Tuesday, saying a “toxic” political environment has created security risks that mandate his frequent use of premium cabins.

Pruitt made the comments in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, the first time he publicly addressed a recent Washington Post report that found he frequently traveled in first-class seats, often at a cost of thousands of dollars per flight, while his aides flew coach. A string of trips last June cost taxpayers more than $90,000 in total, according to agency receipts the Environmental Integrity Project obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Pruitt said Tuesday that his protective detail and his chief of staff made the bookings based on security assessments, and said there was a string of incidents last year that spurred his frequent use of first-class seats. It was not immediately clear what these incidents involved, and the EPA did not reply to HuffPost’s request to clarify what they were.

“We live in a very toxic environment politically, particularly around issues of the environment,” Pruitt told the Union Leader. “We’ve reached the point where there’s not much civility in the marketplace and it’s created, you know, it’s created some issues and the (security) detail, the level of protection is determined by the level of threat.”

“I’m not involved in any of those decisions,” he continued. The Union Leader noted that Pruitt traveled to New Hampshire via a first-class flight from the Washington, D.C., area to Boston.

The EPA defended Pruitt’s travel in an interview with The Washington Post on Sunday, saying ethics officials had approved the expenses. Federal regulations state that government employees must “consider the least expensive class of travel” for their needs, but security concerns do allow for more expensive bookings.

CNN reported in October that Pruitt gets at least “four to five times the number of threats” as his predecessor. He’s also the first person in the role to have a full-time security detail at a cost of about $2 million a year.

Pruitt’s tenure at the EPA has been controversial as he’s quickly moved to dismantle many Obama-era environmental regulations, including the Clean Power Plan. Researchers have accused Pruitt’s EPA of disenfranchising scientists on the agency’s advisory boards, and senior officials have been leaving in droves, either through buyouts or voluntary departures.

On Monday, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) called on Pruitt to be fired, calling him “the wrong person at that place,” echoing the calls of many environmental groups.

But Pruitt told the Union Leader his detractors “just don’t know me.”

One thing is clear: Pruitt’s use of first-class seats isn’t helping the environment. A 2013 World Bank report found that travel in business-class seats accounted for around three times the carbon emissions of equivalent seats in coach, because the seats take up far more space. First-class spots are even larger and can account for up to nine times the emissions.

Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Here’s how.



TRUMP RULE #1 – ALWAYS LIE. ONLY THE LITTLE PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH UNTIL FORCED TO DO SO. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THIS, YOU’LL HAVE TO SUBMIT A FOIA REQUEST.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/14/scott-pruitt-first-class-travel-347631
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
EPA changes its story on Pruitt's first-class travel
The EPA spokesman said anyone seeking additional details about Pruitt’s travels would have to formally request them under FOIA.
By ERIC WOLFF, EMILY HOLDEN and ALEX GUILLÉN 02/14/2018 06:12 PM EST

Photograph -- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been routinely flying first class at taxpayers’ expense after securing what an agency spokesman had described as "blanket waiver." | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

EPA on Wednesday retracted its claim that Administrator Scott Pruitt has received a “blanket waiver” to fly first class whenever he travels, after POLITICO pointed officials to federal travel rules that appeared to bar such arrangements.

Pruitt has been routinely flying first class at taxpayers’ expense after securing what EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox had described as "blanket waiver,” POLITICO reported Tuesday. But the General Services Administration says federal rules require agencies’ oversight staffers to sign off on officials’ first- or business-class travel "on a trip-by-trip basis ... unless the traveler has an up-to-date documented disability or special need.”

Wilcox changed his explanation after POLITICO pointed out that section of the regulations. GSA does allow first-class travel for security reasons, but only if agencies request a waiver for each trip.

"As such, for every trip Administrator Pruitt submits a waiver to fly in either first or business class," Wilcox said, amending the agency's earlier statement, which yielded criticism from Republican lawmakers and led Democrats to request an inspector general investigation.

A GSA spokesperson confirmed its ban on blanket waivers to POLITICO Wednesday but would not discuss Pruitt's specific circumstances.

The EPA spokesman said anyone seeking additional details about Pruitt’s travels would have to formally request them under the Freedom of Information Act, a process that can take months or years. In fact, the agency has not yet responded to POLITICO's June request information about travel authorizations.

Two House Democrats asked an agency watchdog earlier Wednesday to review EPA's "blanket waiver" policy.

The questions add to growing scrutiny over the high-flying travel expenses of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, five months after former HHS Secretary Tom Price stepped down following POLITICO’s reporting on his use of more than $1 million in taxpayers’ money for trips on private jets and government planes.

Pruitt and his staff say he can't fly coach because of security concerns. He regularly purchases first-class tickets on trips as short as D.C. to Boston and on long-haul flights to the Middle East.

But Norm Eisen, the former top ethics lawyer for the Obama administration and a critic of Trump, said Pruitt should not be allowed to routinely ignore regulations that are meant to ensure government officials do not waste taxpayer dollars.

"It’s nonsense, whereas no such thing as providing a blanket waiver of that kind. It’s contrary to all ethics practices," Eisen said. "If you’re going to use the people’s money in this way, there needs to be an individual waiver each time."

Information about Pruitt’s travel expenses has come out only in response to specific public records requests, including one that a court ordered EPA to respond to in mid-January from a watchdog group called the Environmental Integrity Project. It’s not possible to tally how much Pruitt has spent on first-class trips in total, but The Washington Post reported over the weekend that in early June, Pruitt and other EPA staff racked up more than $90,000 in travel bills.

Records also show Pruitt spending $1,641 for a flight from D.C. to New York City and back — a route that often costs as little as $250 with a few days’ notice.

Pruitt also may have an armed agent flying with him at the first-class price level, but EPA excluded some of the travel records in its disclosure to the environmental group, citing security concerns.

Pruitt’s high-priced trips run contrary to the practices of previous administrations, when top EPA officials typically flew coach, and ethics officials allowed first-class trips only in special circumstances. Staffers for President Barack Obama’s EPA chief, Gina McCarthy, recall her flying coach to and from Africa and Asia.

David Shulkin is pictured. | Getty Images
VA audit: Aide expensed Shulkin wife’s European travel under false pretense
By ARTHUR ALLEN

Some Republican lawmakers have criticized Pruitt’s flights, adding to angst over other Trump officials’ travel practices. Besides Price, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin have been under scrutiny for their expenses.

Eisen, now chairman of the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that when he was working in the White House from 2011 to 2014 he only rarely allowed non-coach travel, when State Department officials had to make flights of 14 hours or more. Trips of that length justify first-class tickets, according to federal regulations.

GSA rules clearly prohibit blanket authorizations for commercial flights in virtually all circumstances.

“Blanket authorization of other than coach-class transportation accommodations is prohibited and shall be authorized on an individual trip-by-trip basis, unless the traveler has an up-to-date documented disability or special need,” the Federal Travel Regulation says.

However, agencies can apply waivers to use government aircraft, in certain situations.

Other former federal officials speaking on background said they'd also never heard of a blanket waiver.

An advance staffer for an Obama-era Cabinet member said first class didn’t seem to offer security benefits.

“Security [staff], in my experience, doesn’t care so much what cabin the principal sits in," the former advance staffer said. "They care much more about where their seat is in the plane."

EPA's Office of Inspector General, which investigates threats against Pruitt, said last fall that he received up to five times as many threats as his immediate predecessor, McCarthy.

It is not clear how many of those threats have been deemed credible; the instances revealed so far have included threatening tweets and a menacing postcard. The internal watchdog did not immediately respond to a request on Wednesday for updated statistics on threats against Pruitt.

A former TSA official noted that everyone who flies, in coach or otherwise, is subject to security screening.

"Everyone in that aircraft went through TSA security screening," the official said. "It’s a safe environment like you’d go through the Capitol building on Capitol Hill. Everyone has gone through a metal detector, same as on an aircraft."

Other security experts told POLITICO that there are genuine protective advantages to traveling in first class.

Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal are pictured. | Getty Images
Lawmakers want casino probe from Interior watchdog
By NICK JULIANO

Airlines will often work with high-profile travelers to board them separately from the general public. Flying first class also grants access to secured lounge areas, and first-class passengers disembark first. And while in the air, the first-class area is more tightly controlled than coach.

“You want to minimize as much potential problems as you can,” said Joe Funk of TorchStone Global, a private security firm. Funk spent 21 years in the Secret Service and more recently provided security for presidential candidates Obama, Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush.

“If you reduce the exposure of your protectee, your VIP, from the entire airport audience to a smaller group that is in the lounges, you’ve eliminated or minimized” threats, he added.

While flying first class could allow Pruitt access to special lounges where there are fewer passengers waiting for a plane, former federal agency staffers say VIPs are often offered that option even with just a coach ticket. Some airports ask high-level officials to disembark directly to their vehicles rather than walking through the terminal, a former EPA staffer said. And armed guards and the people they are protecting typically board planes first, former government employees familiar with the process said.

“As much as you can keep your principal away from other people,” you should, said John Sexton of Sexton Executive Security in Fairfax, Va.



THIS STORY ABOUT PORTER'S STATUS BEING UNKNOWN UNTIL JUST RECENTLY IS NOW PUBLICLY DENIED BY WRAY. THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS THAT TRUMP HIMSELF DIDNT KNOW IT, THOUGH. THAT IS EITHER ANOTHER CONVENIENT LIE, OR IT'S THE STRANGE AND UNSETTLING TRUTH. THERE WERE A COUPLE OF VERY DISTURBING STORIES ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO ABOUT TRUMP'S PEOPLE BEING AFRAID TO TELL HIM CERTAIN THINGS, PARTICULARLY ABOUT RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT IN OUR ELECTIONS. THERE WASN'T MUCH DETAIL, BUT IT SEEMED TO MEAN THAT HE GET'S VERY UPSET SOMETIMES WHEN CONFRONTED WITH UNWELCOME NEWS. IF IT IS TRUE THAT THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF LEAVE HIM OUT OF THE LOOP IN THIS WAY, THAT IS VERY DANGEROUS.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fbi-followed-protocol-rob-porter-background-check-fbis-160516297.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=dbb2094c-7d9a-37c0-96b9-7f844af62e78&.tsrc=notification-brknews
FBI's Wray contradicts White House on Porter background check
Reuters • February 13, 2018

Photograph -- Porter and Kelly walk arrives aboard Air Force One with senior staff andTrump at Morristown Airport in Morristown, New Jersey
White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter (L) arrives aboard Air Force One with fellow senior staff and U.S. President Donald Trump for a summer vacation at his Bedminster estate, at Morristown Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. August 4, 2017. Picture taken August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday contradicted the White House version of events surrounding the background check for a former top aide accused of domestic abuse by two ex-wives, triggering more disarray around the controversy.

Wray, in testimony on Capitol Hill, said the agency in late July completed a background check for security clearance for former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned a week ago amid allegations of abuse from two former wives.

Related Searches
FBI Background CheckFBI WrayChristopher Wray FBIFBI Director Wray

Wray's comments conflict with the White House assertion that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and intelligence agencies had not completed investigations into Porter. White House officials had no immediate explanation.

"I'm quite confident that in this particular instance, the FBI followed established protocols," Wray told Senate Intelligence Committee as the White House faces questions over when it learned about the allegations against Porter.

Questions have arisen about how security clearance investigations are handled as the White House grapples with the fallout over the accusations against Porter, who resigned under pressure last week.

Porter had been operating under a temporary clearance that gave him access to some sensitive information without a final security clearance.

Wray said a partial report on Porter was issued in March and a completed report was submitted in late July. The FBI received a request for a follow-up inquiry, provided it in November and passed along additional information earlier this month.

"Soon thereafter we received a request for follow-up inquiry and we did the follow-up and provided that information in November and administratively closed the file in January," he said. "Earlier this month, we received some additional information and we passed that on as well."

Asked if the White House had been informed of the allegations against Porter, Wray said, "I can't get into the content."

The White House has yet to outline a specific timeline on who knew what when in the Porter case.

One official said White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had wondered last autumn why Porter’s clearance was taking so long - along with those of other top officials, including the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The extent of what he was told about Porter at the time is unclear. The White House has said Kelly became “fully aware” of the accusations last Wednesday and promptly obtained Porter’s resignation.

On that day, photos were published in a Daily Mail article, showing one ex-wife with a black eye that she said was a result of an altercation with Porter, 40.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jeffrey Benkoe)


THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER COMMENTS, BUT THEY WEREN’T ALL AS WELL PHRASED AS THIS ONE, SO I KEPT IT. IT DEFTLY MAKES A POINT.

Johnny B
Johnny B1 hour ago
Porter was DENIED security clearance due to these facts the FBI/CIA directly uncovered. The WH LIED again. This isn't a game. They picked a fight with the DOJ/FBI/CIA. Good luck Trump & crew. Mueller and the entire country is coming for you!



ARE YOU READY FOR THIS STORY? TRUST ME. YOU’RE NOT. SIT DOWN. IS THIS A NEW TRUMPIAN GOVERNMENT SHRINKING MOVE? WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IS MODIFYING COURT SENTENCES TO FIT CRIME SO THAT LESS SEVERE CASES CAN BE HANDLED NOT IN A PRISON, BUT IN A PSYCHOLOGICAL RETRAINING FACILITY. NEVER HEARD OF ONE? I HAVE, BUT I THINK IT WAS IN A RUSSIAN SETTING, AND WE MIGHT CONSIDER IT BRAINWASHING.

ANOTHER SOLUTION TO OUR PRISONER PROBLEM MIGHT BE FOR THE US TO STOP PUTTING BLACKS AND HISPANICS WITH BROKEN TAIL LIGHTS INTO JAIL FOR NON-PAYMENT OF A FINE, AND THEN A YEAR OR SO LATER AGAIN ON A CHARGE OF BREAKING PAROLE IN SOME WAY, BOOSTING UP THEIR SENTENCES TOWARD POSSIBLE PRISON TERMS. THE FOR PROFIT PRISON SYSTEMS WOULDN’T LIKE THAT, OF COURSE. THE WHOLE SITUATION SICKENS ME, AND THIS STORY IS LITERALLY INSANE. THAT’S WHY I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE A TRUMP PLAN. UNFORTUNATELY, IT STARTED UNDER OBAMA. IT HAS TO BE THE DIRECT RESULT OF THESE YEARS AND YEARS NOW OF REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS DRAWING MORE AND MORE MONEY OUT OF ALL OF THE HUMAN NEEDS REALM, AND PUT IT INTO THE POCKETS OF THE RICH AND “GOVERNMENT AID” FOR THE GREAT CORPORATIONS. HOW BORING.

WHATEVER THE NEEDS OF THE PRISON SYSTEM ARE, HOWEVER, PEOPLE WHO ARE UNPREPARED TO DEAL WITH A POTENTIALLY VIOLENT PRISONER SHOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE DRAFTED OUT OF THEIR LIBRARY JOB TO KEEP ORDER IN A PLACE LIKE THAT.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/13/ill-equipped-and-inexperienced-hundreds-civilian-staffers-assigned-guard-duties-federal-prison-secur/316616002/?csp=chromepush
Exclusive: As federal prisons run low on guards, nurses and cooks are filling in
Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY Published 2:21 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2018

Photograph -- Photo: COLIN HACKET/FOR USDA TODAY)

When Kristan Morgan joined the U.S. Bureau of Prisons three years ago, the 30-year-old nurse expected to spend her days caring for the chronically sick and injured inside the nation's largest correctional system.

What she didn't anticipate: Being abruptly plucked from the busy medical unit in Tallahassee, Fla., to pull guard duty in cell blocks – including a solitary confinement wing.

"We get a radio and set of keys, and we don't know which keys fit which doors," said Morgan, who often reports to guard duty in scrubs and running shoes because there are no extra officer uniforms.

Hundreds of secretaries, teachers, counselors, cooks and medical staffers were tapped last year to fill guard posts across the Bureau of Prisons because of acute officer shortages and overtime limits, according to prison records reviewed by USA TODAY and staff interviews.

The moves were made despite repeated warnings that the assignments placed unprepared employees at risk. And the practice has continued for years even though the agency has been rebuked by Congress and federal labor arbitrators.

"It puts inmate safety at risk and our own security at risk. When we play officer, we are not equipped," said Morgan, a local union official. "We are not familiar with the housing units. The inmates know exactly who we are and what our limitations are."

Still, Morgan continued, "I've been ordered to do it. I have no choice."

Kristan Morgan outside the federal prison complex in Tallahassee where she is a nurse practitioner. In addition to her medical duties she has been re-assigned to stand guard on the solitary confinement wing. She is often given a radio and a ring of keys with no idea what keys open which doors. (Photo: Colin Hackley, for USA TODAY)

Morgan's extraordinary account also is an alarmingly common one.

As recently as July, a House panel directed the agency to “curtail its over-reliance” on the extraordinary deployments known as augmentation, once reserved only for emergency operations.

Instead, officials said the practice has become commonplace at some institutions where even some plumbers, electrical workers, budget analysts and commissary staffers have been patrolling prison yards and filling officer vacancies in maximum security units.

More: Execs at troubled federal prisons received bonuses totaling in the millions

More: Exclusive: Empty guard towers allowed carjacker to escape maximum security prison

"While BOP reports that there is a higher incidences [sic] of serious assaults by inmates on staff at high and medium security institutions than at the lower security facilities, to meet staffing needs the BOP still routinely uses a process called augmentation whereby a non-custody employee is assigned custody responsibilities," a Senate Appropriations Committee report concluded in July.

The BOP, in response to written questions, did not dispute the large numbers of civilians drafted for guard duty. Prison officials have repeatedly contended that all employees are regarded as "correctional workers first." Indeed, all staffers are provided basic officer training as a condition of employment, but few civilians have been required to put that training into practice before they are tapped to plug security gaps.

"We continue to hire staff at institutions around the country as needed to further the mission of the Bureau of Prisons," the agency said in a statement.

Nearly two years ago, USA TODAY reported that nurses, physical therapists and other medical staffers had been pressed into security duties, raising concerns about their safety. The report was followed by a memo from then-acting Director Thomas Kane urging restraint in authorizing such deployments, directing wardens to use it "only as a last resort."

Yet the practice has only continued – and even accelerated – at some short-staffed institutions.

The Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee a
The Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee a low security federal correctional institution with a detention center. (Photo: Bop.gov)

Two months after Kane's June 2016 memo, the warden overseeing federal prison operations in Hazelton, W.Va., said officer shortages there required civilian employees to pull officer shifts in inmate cell blocks and as substitutes for officers on vehicle patrols.

"Current staffing levels at...Hazelton have made it difficult to fill mandatory posts on a regular basis without relying on augmentation," Warden Joe Coakley said in the Aug. 1, 2016 memo.

There also are growing concerns that the level of risk to both staffers and inmates will only increase, as the Trump administration is in the midst of cutting about 6,000 positions from its force – about a 14% reduction system-wide. The cuts include about 1,800 officer positions.

While the BOP said the majority of the positions being eliminated are currently vacant, the moves – including plans to transfer an undisclosed number of inmates to private contract prisons – has roiled the ranks where some work schedules vary from day to day.

A sampling of prison work rosters at the Coleman, Fla., complex obtained by USA TODAY showed that up to 36 civilian staffers were assigned to guard duty on any given day last year. Their numbers included teachers, laundry workers, financial managers and a "religious service" staffer.

At the federal prison complex in Victorville, Calif., John Kostelnik, chief of the local prison workers union, said up to 60 civilian staffers a day have been assigned to officer posts.

"We have people who have literally never done this before," he said. "It's quite scary. The whole system of (civilian reassignments) is a mess."

The United States Penitentiary, Victorville, Calif.
The United States Penitentiary, Victorville, Calif. (Photo: bop.gov)

Laurie Robinson, a former assistant attorney general who was part of a congressional task force that examined the federal prison system in 2015, said that the safety and security of inmates and "requires making sure that the people are trained for the duties that they are carrying out."

"For this (civilian reassignments) to be occurring as a matter of course is not a good thing," Robinson continued. "This goes against sound corrections practice."

A string of recent decisions issued by federal labor officials in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas strongly support the deep concerns being raised across the system.

In November, the Federal Labor Relations Authority ruled in favor of re-assigned staffers at the Bennettsville, S.C., Federal Correctional Institute, referring in part to a "lack of adequate training" that posed "increasing inherent risk" to the facility.

As part of a successful challenge to conditions in Florence, Colo., announced in December, a prison staffer testified that when recreation workers were reassigned to officer duty – leaving recreation areas with less supervision – "an inmate was assaulted in the gym and there was an attempted murder in the paint room."

"Inmates notified these employees that they wait until staff are pulled...to assault other inmates because they know there will be less coverage," the staffer testified.

Eric Young, president of the union representing prison workers, said that at least "hundreds" of such reassignments have been made in the past year across the system's 122 facilities.

"The problems have only escalated," Young said. "Some of the facilities are making these assignments everyday to avoid paying overtime to corrections officers."

Young said he met with new BOP Director Mark Inch in December to discuss the conditions.

"Teachers are hired to teach – not to be corrections officers," Young said. "You can't have your cake and eat it, too."

The United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, W.V.
The United States Penitentiary, Hazelton, W.V. (Photo: bop.gov)

Despite the ongoing cuts, the BOP said actual staffing will remain largely the same because most of the eliminated positions were already vacant. A larger re-organization of the system is slated to continue, as the overall prison population has declined in recent years. Though over-crowding in a number of facilities persists.

"At this point, we aren't reducing staffing levels," the agency said. "We are eliminating positions, but not staff."

Nevertheless, the cuts have prompted a vocal lashing from union officials.

"With less corrections officers in the prisons, BOP has turned to augmentation...which means that cooks, foremen, secretaries, electricians, teachers, accountants or counselors are augmented to replace officers inside the prison," American Federation of Government Employees president David Cox said.

"Augmentation can result in one correctional worker supervising hundreds of dangerous prisoners, including terrorists, gangs and murderers inside each facility with no backup."


MADDOW TIME
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/14/18
Rep. Esty: Congress needs political backbone to pass gun safety
Rep. Elizabeth Esty, whose district includes Newtown, Connecticut, talks with Rachel Maddow about why her colleagues in Congress should look at how gun safety laws worked in her state and do something about mass shootings. Duration: 5:13


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/14/18
Gun safety politics grows as gun violence victims increase
Lori Haas, whose daughter survived the Virginia Tech shooting, talks with Rachel Maddow about coping emotionally in the wake of such a tragedy and how the growing number of Americans who have experienced gun violence is becoming an increasingly powerful political base in support of gun safety. Duration: 6:41


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/14/18
School shooting drills prove beneficial in Parkland gun tragedy
Melissa Falkowski, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, talks with Rachel Maddow about what she experienced as a gunman terrorized her school, and how previous drills prepared students and staff for the very real horror. Duration: 7:58


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/14/18
Once unimaginable gun massacres become familiar
Rachel Maddow reports on the latest developments in the deadly gun tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and notes the elements that have become familiar in gun massacres, including the deflection of gun questions by politicians with vague answers about mental health. Duration: 8:13


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/13/18
Trump White House still struggling to get its act together
Andrea Mitchell, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the inability of the Trump White House to get security clearances properly taken care of and scandals still haunting Trump from all the way back to the campaign. Duration: 7:44


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/13/18
Trump lawyer says he paid Stormy Daniels from own money: NYT
Rachel Maddow reports breaking news that Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, responding to an FEC complaint, insists he paid $130,000 to adult performer Stormy Daniels from his own money, not Trump Org or Trump campaign money. Duration: 2:11


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/13/18
Trump administration giving Russia what it wants on sanctions
Rachel Maddow shows how Russia's chief goal seen throughout the Trump Russia scandal is to roll back Obama era sanctions and prevent any new sanctions, and the Trump administration has so far been obliging. Duration: 9:31


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/13/18
Echoes of Mike Flynn in White House bungling of Porter scandal
Rachel Maddow looks at the slow response of the Trump White House in dealing with Mike Flynn despite his access to confidential material, to their inaction on Rob Porter who also continued to have classified access. Duration: 18:02


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/12/18
Trump White House failing to secure proper security clearances
Chris Lu, who ran the 2008 Obama presidential transition, talks with Rachel Maddow about how a normal presidential transition handles necessary security clearances ahead of taking office. Duration: 5:39


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/12/18
Trump camp ties to Russia a transition quandary for Obama team
Rachel Maddow shows how a newly released e-mail from Susan Rice illuminates the challenge for Obama officials trying to decide how to communicate with Trump officials they knew were under investigation. Duration: 20:10


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/12/18
Americans kept in dark about Russian intel chiefs' visit to US
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talks with Rachel Maddow about the unusual visit of all three Russian intelligence chiefs to the United States and the fact that U.S. officials have said less about the visit than Russians. Duration: 8:25


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/12/18
Americans again made to learn from Russia about Trump Putin call
Rachel Maddow reviews what now makes at least eight times that Americans have learned about Donald Trump interacting with Russian officials from Russian media instead of the White House. Duration: 4:29