DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Doctors say Graham abortion ban would force women to have transvaginal ultrasounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham's national 15-week abortion ban would likely force many women to undergo invasive transvaginal ultrasounds before terminating pregnancies, according to doctors. Because violations of Graham's proposed 15-week ban would be punishable by up to five years in prison, doctors say the legislation would create a powerful incentive to perform transvaginal ultrasounds to make an age judgment. With Democrats in control of the House, Senate and White House, Graham’s bill stands no chance of advancing this year. Before he introduced his bill, Graham's effort was expected by some in the GOP to help Republicans reset the politics of abortion. For others, the details of Graham's ban are politically tricky, especially in states that have passed different abortion restrictions in recent years.

Navy veteran Mark Frerichs is free after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan under a prisoner swap personally approved by President Joe Biden, a senior administration official told NBC News. The Taliban announced the deal overnight and Noorzai appeared at a news conference in Kabul. “This is a painful decision for any president to make,” the administration official said. In recent years, it has become clear that the Taliban wanted Noorzai’s freedom as a condition of releasing the American. “We are working very hard as a government not just to resolve current cases, but also to punish, and by punishing, deter future cases,” the senior administration official said.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will host South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting Friday, where they're expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. In April, Biden and Ramaphosa had "a frank and open conversation about what was happening in Ukraine," a senior administration official said, previewing the meeting. Ramaphosa has refrained from condemning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and his country has largely remained neutral during the conflict. Ramaphosa, 69, has served as the president of South Africa since 2018 and also is president of the African National Congress. He previously was the chairperson of the African Union and was the deputy president of South Africa.

The welfare funds in question were part of the $86 million Mississippi is given each year by the federal government to lift families out of poverty. The state auditor uncovered $77 million in misspent welfare funds in February 2020. The text messages, which were part of a filing by New's attorney, do not establish that Favre knew the public funds discussed were welfare money. The newly released text messages indicate Bryant, a Republican, was much more involved in the project as governor than previously known. She would pay Favre $1.1 million in state funds directly and he would do a few radio ads.

The Mississippi state auditor said Favre never gave the speeches and demanded the money back, with interest. In an interview with the website Mississippi Today, Bryant said he never knew the grants came from welfare money. The former head of the state welfare agency, John Davis, has pleaded not guilty to state charges of bribery and conspiracy, and law enforcement officials say the investigations continue. Favre defended himself in a series of tweets last year against allegations from White, the state auditor, that he accepted state money for speeches he never intended to give. Marcus Dupree, a former college football star, also received $370,000 in welfare funds, which prosecutors say partly went to fund his horse ranch.

☆ Biden signs bill to expand benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation on Wednesday expanding health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. The bipartisan bill, known as the PACT Act, is the most significant expansion of veterans' health care and benefits in more than 30 years, a White House official said. Danielle Robinson was a guest of first lady Jill Biden during the president's first State of the Union address when he called on Congress to pass burn pits legislation. Biden has said he believes Beau’s cancer was linked to exposure to burn pits during his deployment. The legislation increases veterans' access to medical care and disability payments for exposure to burn pits.

While they were in Kandahar, Burch and her fellow service members were exposed to “burn pits, incinerators and poo ponds,” she said. The veterans camped out on the steps outside the Senate all weekend, braving the heat, the humidity and occasional thunderstorms and sleeping on the hard concrete stairs. At times, lawmakers and officials, including Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, joined the protesters to urge the Senate to pass the PACT Act. “As far as I can see, it passed 84 to 14, and then 25 Republicans switched their vote. “Switched it without an explanation, switched it without pointing to the bill and saying what was inserted.

Evan Edwards told the officers they were headed to a conference in Texas, but he could not provide any specifics, according to the complaint. The scam and its unraveling stunned their neighbors as well as members of Evan Edwards’ extended family. “We knew we wanted to preach the gospel where it was not preached,” Evan Edwards said in a 2008 radio interview. Joy Edwards, Evan and Mary Jane Edwards, and Josh Edwards. The family moved back to Canada about 10 years ago, and Evan Edwards continued to preach, his cousin said.

The Justice Department named Kevin Chambers, who had been associate deputy attorney general, as chief prosecutor for Covid-19 fraud Thursday. President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address last week that Chambers would lead the charge against major perpetrators of pandemic fraud. We may not get all the money back, but that’s not the only value in bringing these cases," he said. The U.S. government spent $5 trillion to fight Covid-19, Chambers said, "so the numbers are going to be big." In explaining the importance of prosecuting Covid-19 fraud cases, Chambers rejected the notion that stealing from the government is a victimless crime.

In that environment, crooks were easily able to impersonate jobless Americans using stolen identity information for sale in bulk in the dark corners of the internet. When Yvonne Matlock lost her job last year and applied for unemployment benefits online, she was told she was already getting relief money. Through a public records request, NBC News obtained data from the Labor Department, which funds Covid relief unemployment benefits programs, that are riddled with blank values and underestimates. ID.meMore than two-thirds of states, 34, reported no cases of identity theft overpayments in the most vulnerable unemployment benefits program. Cash App, which describes itself as "the easiest way to send money, spend money, save money, and buy cryptocurrency," has been frequently used by fraudsters to move money, law enforcement officials and private consultants said.

Search resuls for: "Based In Washington."

10 mentions found