All posts tagged: Officials

Why election officials are partnering more closely with police : NPR

Why election officials are partnering more closely with police : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Police officers stand outside a polling station in Las Vegas on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. In recent years, election administrators have formed closer working relationships with local law enforcement. Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images When Chris Davis first started working in law enforcement over 30 years ago, elections would come and go relatively unnoticed. “Election Day was something, as a police officer, you may not even realize was happening,” he said. “It wouldn’t even come up on roll calls.” Davis is now chief of police in Green Bay, Wis. And elections have rapidly become a big part of his job, something he plans for year-round. “I think a lot of that is just because we’re right in the middle of the Wisconsin battleground,” Davis said. “I remember really being struck when I came here at just how, almost, nervous a lot of city staff were about elections.” Davis’ experience reflects a trend experts have noticed across the country: Since the 2020 election, local law enforcement …

Officials powerless to stop 8 new data centers that could transform small Texas county

Officials powerless to stop 8 new data centers that could transform small Texas county

Published by Sam Flores

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. HOOD COUNTY — Brian Crawford points to the top of a hill northwest of his family’s home garden, just past their gently sloping yard dotted with live oaks beginning to flower. “All of this would be buildings,” said his wife, Laura Crawford. “A slab of concrete,” Brian added. Their property is a 118-acre paradise along the Paluxy River Valley where the couple care for a menagerie of animals including their two enormous donkeys, Little Joe and Hoss, chickens and a herd of African antelope that they inherited when they bought the property nine years ago. Instead of green, about 600 yards away from their garden, they could soon be looking at 2,100 acres of warehouse-like structures filled with computing servers that process the digital world, flattening their scenic view into something industrial. The site plan calls for a campus that spans almost six times the size of University of Texas at Austin’s main campus. Its Florida-based developer refers to it as the Comanche Circle project, but the …

Utah residents sue officials over Kevin O’Leary data center plan

Utah residents sue officials over Kevin O’Leary data center plan

Published by Sam Flores

A progressive nonprofit and five Utah residents have filed a lawsuit against government officials and a special entity overseeing Kevin O’Leary’s planned Stratos Project data center, alleging that Box Elder County residents’ rights were violated. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Utah’s 3rd District Court by the Alliance for a Better Utah and the group of anonymous residents. The plaintiffs hope to challenge the constitutionality of the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) — a special entity that oversees the data center’s proposal — and its approval of the project, a spokesperson for the nonprofit said. Attorney David Irvine, who is representing the plaintiffs, alleges that MIDA is exercising powers as an unelected body that “the Utah Constitution never authorized.” “Under the Stratos plan, it would hold permanent, irrevocable control over public health, safety, taxation, and land use across tens of thousands of acres of Box Elder County, with no voter recourse,” he said in a statement. The lawsuit alleges that …

Trump Tells “Less Shackled” Pulte To Fire Intelligence Officials As Senate Blocks FISA Extension

Trump Tells “Less Shackled” Pulte To Fire Intelligence Officials As Senate Blocks FISA Extension

Published by Jenni Sidey

When has the Senate ever not increased government spy powers? When President Trump installs Bill Pulte as acting DNI and instructs him to start kicking hornet nests, apparently.   In a WSJ interview published Friday, Trump revealed he has directed incoming acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to begin the process of firing a large number of employees as part of a major shake-up of the U.S. intelligence community. Trump described the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as “unnecessary and/or too big” and said he wants it made “much smaller” – and possibly even terminated. “I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, targeting holdovers from prior administrations. He told Pulte to “start the process” of firings, noting that Pulte’s acting status makes him “less shackled” and gives him more power in the short term to do the “hard work” of downsizing before a permanent director is confirmed. Trump compared the approach to Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s efforts to …

Trump’s Troop Reversals in Europe Could Cost Millions and Have Left Soldiers in Limbo, Officials Say

Trump’s Troop Reversals in Europe Could Cost Millions and Have Left Soldiers in Limbo, Officials Say

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is waiting for clarity from the Pentagon following President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth on troop levels in Europe, upending the lives of military personnel and potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars, two U.S. defense officials told The Associated Press. The Republican president announced on social media two weeks ago that he was sending troops to Poland — the same day the Pentagon had officially ordered the cancellation of a rotation of soldiers heading there, one of the defense officials said. The unit’s equipment was already on the way. Sending it cost the military $32 million, said U.S. Transportation Command, the military agency largely responsible for moving troops and gear across the globe. The abrupt changes are forcing the military to “retroactively engineer” a policy in line with the president’s latest pronouncement, the official said. Both officials were briefed on the decisions and, along with others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. The uncertainty is not only rattling European allies worried about the message being sent …

Indonesia arrests officials in crackdown on corruption | Corruption News

Indonesia arrests officials in crackdown on corruption | Corruption News

Published by Sam Flores

Indonesia’s deputy minister for immigration affairs, Silmy Karim, has been arrested after about 10 hours of questioning. Published On 4 Jun 20264 Jun 2026 Amid a crackdown on corruption in Indonesia, the deputy minister for immigration affairs has been arrested over alleged irregularities in the administration of immigration documents. Budi Prasetyo, spokesperson for the anticorruption agency KPK, confirmed Silmy Karim’s arrest to the Reuters news agency on Thursday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The alleged corruption occurred from 2023 to 2024, said Budi, when Karim served as director general for immigration affairs under then-President Joko Widodo. Karim was questioned at the KPK office on Wednesday night, and about 10 hours later, he emerged in handcuffs and an orange jacket on Thursday morning to be transferred to detention. Budi added that the KPK has also identified seven other suspects in the case. More details about the case are expected to be released later on Thursday, he added. The action comes a day after the country’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO) arrested Dadan Hindayana, the …

Vladimir Putin warned by his own officials that mounting cost of Ukraine war is ‘unsustainable’

Vladimir Putin warned by his own officials that mounting cost of Ukraine war is ‘unsustainable’

Published by Sam Flores

Vladimir Putin has been warned that he cannot afford to sustain his war in Ukraine at the current pace, as Kyiv continues to tally frontline wins and devastate energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Top finance officials and Russia’s central bank are said to have urged the Kremlin to rein in spiralling defence spending, as both sides ramp up costly aerial attacks on vital infrastructure. Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that Moscow is “losing on the battlefield” and “has no cards except terror”, despite a major blitz of cities across Ukraine overnight that killed at least 22 people. Russia launched a devastating series of strikes on Ukraine, including in the Kharkiv region, where a storage facility (pictured) was hit (Ukrainian Emergency Service) As Kyiv continues to pile on the pressure with strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, defence officials in Moscow reportedly told Putin that they will need billions of extra dollars this year to fund the conflict, according toBloomberg News. Putin is said to have told the finance ministry to find savings elsewhere …