All posts tagged: scrutiny

The House Article | Our System For Post-Legislative Scrutiny Isn’t Working

The House Article | Our System For Post-Legislative Scrutiny Isn’t Working

Published by Sam Flores

(ASTIK) 6 min read13 min Parliament was assured it would have an enhanced ability to review how newly introduced legislation is working in practice. But Hleb Buziuk says it is far from clear this vital part of scrutiny is taking place Parliament does have a general system for looking back at legislation. Since 2008, departments have been expected to publish a memorandum three to five years after Royal Assent explaining how the legislation has worked. A Commons select committee can then decide whether a fuller inquiry is needed. But the department and committee may agree that no memorandum is required. FairGo, the organisation that I help lead, tested how visible that system is in practice. We examined every substantive Public General Act passed at Westminster between 2008 and 2021 – 311 in all. We counted departmental memoranda, committee inquiries, statutory reports and other formal reviews covering all or part of an act. We began in 2008, when the modern system was established, and stopped in 2021 so that every piece of legislation had …

NYPD footage fuels scrutiny of ICE shooting

NYPD footage fuels scrutiny of ICE shooting

Published by Sam Flores

Newly released NYPD body-camera footage showing the aftermath of an immigration enforcement shooting in New York City has intensified scrutiny of federal agents who shot a man with his 5-year-old son in the car. The footage shows officers arriving Thursday in Marble Hill to find Oscar Belgal, 28, wounded, handcuffed and seated on the ground. NYPD officers rendered aid and rushed him to a hospital. Police later located his unharmed son with a family member. Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting in an initial social media post, saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had shot a New Yorker while his child was in the vehicle. This afternoon in Marble Hill, a New Yorker was shot by an ICE agent in a residential neighborhood. Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed. This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our …

Severe injuries at French student protests draw scrutiny to police tactics

Severe injuries at French student protests draw scrutiny to police tactics

Published by Sam Flores

Fourteen-year-old Eden suffered a ​broken jaw and multiple smashed teeth when he was struck by a tear gas canister directed towards him at close range by a police officer last week during student protests in France, his parents and family lawyer said. Read moreFrench students vow to keep up protests as UN voices ‘concern’ over violence The teenager had been sitting on a wall looking at his phone metres away from the protest in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumone, the lawyer said. An officer approached him and struck him with a baton, prompting Eden to respond with a kick, according to the local prosecutor. A ​second officer then fired a ‌tear gas grenade with a Cougar launcher, hitting him in the face. “(The officer) shot him in the mouth and left him lying on the ground, without even calling the emergency ⁠services,” said lawyer Elsa Marcel. The family, who asked for Eden’s second name to be withheld to protect their privacy, has filed a complaint for attempted murder, she said. A police spokesperson said they do not comment on ongoing investigations. According to the prosecutor’s office, the police officer said that he was …

Guilfoyle scandal adds to scrutiny surrounding Trump advisers

Guilfoyle scandal adds to scrutiny surrounding Trump advisers

Published by Sam Flores

President Trump faces a scandal involving a top official, with Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle under scrutiny for allegedly soliciting debt relief in exchange for political access. That revelation follows other reported questionable conduct, including favoring a Greek energy firm.  It was the second time this week a White House adviser drew headlines. The Trump… Source link

Aircraft carrier returns to San Diego amid scrutiny

Aircraft carrier returns to San Diego amid scrutiny

Published by Sam Flores

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — Draped in red, white and blue striped banners, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in San Diego Bay after 322 days at sea. It ended one of the longest maritime deployments in U.S. military history, returning home to eager loved ones, as well as ongoing scrutiny over past reports of low morale. Elated crewmembers lined the decks portside — some waved to the waiting crowds, and others danced as their loved ones cheered from below. “It’s a combination of the day before Christmas and the last day of school,” the commanding officer, Capt. Dan Keeler, told NBC News, adding that some of the crewmembers are just 18 years old. “They are amazing, you know, legends and heroes,” he said. “Every single one of them.” Among the first to depart at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado will be 64 parents who have been waiting months to meet their babies for the first time, The Associated Press reported. 00:47 USS Lincoln sailor will meet his baby boy when ship …

The Drug Used in Tennessee’s Failed Execution Has Come Under Past Scrutiny

The Drug Used in Tennessee’s Failed Execution Has Come Under Past Scrutiny

Published by Sam Flores

The lethal drug administered in Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike has been used in multiple states that carry out the death penalty and by the U.S. government after President Donald Trump resumed federal executions during his first term. Pike, 50, remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered Wednesday, according to her attorneys and media witnesses. One of her lawyers said Thursday that she was being treated at a hospital. Tennessee officials haven’t explained yet what went wrong during the execution. Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a third-party review to determine what happened and said another scheduled execution in Tennessee will not take place this year. Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, a class of drugs that depresses the central nervous system. Approved medical uses include sedation, short-term treatment of insomnia, preparation for anesthesia and emergency control of certain severe seizures. It is also used in veterinary euthanasia. In an overdose, it can produce coma, suppress breathing and cause circulatory collapse and death. Why is it used in executions? For years, lethal injections commonly …

Prediction Markets Under Federal Scrutiny

Prediction Markets Under Federal Scrutiny

Published by skeptic

The Supreme Court is weighing petitions involving prediction markets as the House Oversight Committee expands an insider-trading inquiry and the CFTC reportedly reviews promotional programs, putting operators under pressure from three separate federal fronts. The developments, reported by Gambling Insider on September 30, 2026, are unfolding alongside stronger opposition from casino, Tribal gaming and labor representatives. They are not one coordinated enforcement action: the court has not agreed to hear the cases, the committee is seeking information, and the CFTC review could lead to examinations or enforcement. Three separate federal tracks The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement petitioned the Supreme Court after the Third Circuit ruled in Kalshi’s favor. Robinhood and Crypto.com also filed petitions after the Ninth Circuit rejected their preemption arguments in Nevada in August. The court had not agreed to hear any of the cases as it considered petitions ahead of its 2026–27 term. In Congress, House Oversight Chair James Comer sent letters on Tuesday, September 29, to Hyperliquid, Crypto.com and Aristotle Exchange/PredictIt. The committee wants details on identity verification and …

Stock Contracts Draw Regulatory Scrutiny

Stock Contracts Draw Regulatory Scrutiny

Published by skeptic

Polymarket International and Kalshi have pushed their event-contract platforms deeper into stock-linked and corporate-metric wagers, with Polymarket traders placing more than $220 million across roughly 31,000 stock-related markets by early September. The growth has caught the attention of securities lawyers who warn that these prediction markets expanding into company-linked contracts remain far smaller than the underlying stock market but are growing fast enough to raise real investor-protection concerns. Nvidia, Apple and Tesla Lead the Action Polymarket International launched individual-stock contracts in October 2025, and by early September nearly 60% of the more than $220 million wagered had gone into bets on individual-stock price moves, according to an analysis by research firm Allium prepared for Reuters. Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple and Tesla were the most popular names, with the remainder split across ETFs and stock indexes. Traders typically pick yes or no on whether a stock or index hits a set level by a set date. The user interface of the Polymarket prediction market platform. One wallet identified by Allium ran roughly 1,300 trades on Apple contracts …

Government-funded Trump ads draw scrutiny

Government-funded Trump ads draw scrutiny

Published by Sam Flores

Television advertisements with a pro-Trump message — and paid for by the U.S. government — are expanding their reach ahead of November’s midterm elections, prompting bipartisan scrutiny over whether the campaign complies with federal restrictions on taxpayer-funded publicity and propaganda. One of the ads — backed by music that repeats the words “love me” — prominently features images of President Donald Trump while he says, “America will never be a communist country.” Campaign talking points like “largest tax cuts in history” flash over the screen during the spot. The ad aired on national network television over the weekend, including during CBS’ “Face the Nation” and college football games, according to advertising intelligence company AdImpact. The government has spent nearly $920,000 airing the ad so far. At the end of the ad, a disclaimer says “paid for by the U.S. Government.” The source of the funding has not yet been identified. A White House spokesperson defended the ads as “public service announcements” intended to remind “Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, …

A New Safety Push Puts Prediction Markets Under Scrutiny

A New Safety Push Puts Prediction Markets Under Scrutiny

Published by skeptic

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) are widening a congressional campaign to force federal oversight and consumer protections onto prediction markets, aligning with public-health advocates who argue the fast-growing industry has outrun the rules meant to contain it. The two lawmakers appeared this week alongside the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) and Families and Friends of Gamblers (FFOG) to launch what the groups are calling Truth and Integrity: The Movement for Gambling Reform, according to sportsbettingdime.com. The initiative is built around three demands: congressional hearings and minimum federal safety standards, tougher state-level enforcement, and public pressure on operators to change how they treat customers. Senator Richard Blumenthal with colleagues during a press conference. Harry Levant, a board member of FFOG, framed the launch as a response to what he described as a mounting mental-health and public-health crisis tied to gambling addiction, telling sportsbettingdime.com the effort was only a starting point for a broader national reckoning. Blumenthal, at the same event, argued that the gambling industry – sportsbooks and prediction platforms alike – …