Corruption Ledger

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department announced today that the Mount Vernon, New York, Police Department (MVPD) engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights secured by the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Specifically, the Justice Department finds that MVPD: Uses excessive force in numerous ways, including by unnecessarily escalating minor encounters and by…

Authorities in two Indian states that are driving its economic growth are drafting tighter workplace rules and inspections to protect white collar employees following the death of a young executive at global consultancy Ernst & Young (EY), which her family blamed on overwork. India’s decades-old labour laws are largely focused on blue-collar workers, leaving others vulnerable to workplace abuse such…

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s defence ministry reported a spike in Chinese military activity around the island on Wednesday, including 53 military aircraft, with Taiwan on high alert over Beijing’s latest pressure campaign. China’s military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any military exercises. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had…

Ever since the US and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Western officials have been frustrated by Moscow’s continued ability to get its hands on American technologies to help power its war efforts. Russian weapons recovered from battlefields in the region are chock full of gear from firms like Intel Corp. and Analog Devices Inc.,…

NEW YORK – U.S. troops will be staying in Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad as part of a counter-terrorism mission focused on destroying Islamic State militants, a top White House official said on Tuesday. “Those troops are there for a very specific and important reason, not as some sort of bargaining chip,” U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor…

There are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the country, the European Union’s new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday, while pointing to positive early signals. Syria’s new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of…

BEIRUT – A Syria war monitor said on Dec 10 that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in central Homs province killed 54 soldiers who were fleeing as Islamist-led rebels pressed a major offensive on government-controlled areas. ISIS militants captured “personnel fleeing military service in the desert… during the collapse of the regime” of president Bashar al-Assad and…

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney will pay a $15 million penalty as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to four financial advisers who stole millions of dollars of advisory clients’ and brokerage customers’ funds. The settlement announced late Monday is also related to the firm’s failure to adopt policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect…

Israeli Shelling Damages Gaza Hospital, Halts Surgeries Palestinian health officials reported on Sunday that Israeli forces shelled Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, severely damaging critical infrastructure. The attack disrupted electricity and oxygen pumps, halting urgent surgeries and medical care. The hospital, one of three barely operational in northern Gaza, was struck by around 100 tank shells and…

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China sent 14 warships, seven military aircraft and four balloons near Taiwan between Saturday and Sunday, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, as Beijing ramps up pressure on the island it claims as its own. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the island in response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s recent…

Syrian rebels said they had entered Damascus on Sunday as President Bashar al-Assad’s regime appeared to collapse in the face of the insurgents’ stunning offensive across the country. The rebels said in a statement that “the city of Damascus is free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad” and that “Assad has fled”. The whereabouts of Assad were unclear, with reports that…

The main rebel offensive has been led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and various armed groups backed by Turkey. Other fighters have joined in, including army defectors who had fought the regime and laid down arms in previous ceasefires, said the people. As rebels converge on Damascus from the north and south, Iran has drawn…

Footnote No. 379 of the carefully researched, wide-ranging document that historian Lee Mordechai has drawn up contains a link to a video clip. The footage shows a large dog gnawing something amid bushes. “Wai, wai, he took the terrorist, the terrorist is gone – gone in both senses,” says the soldier who filmed the dog eating a corpse. After a…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a federal order requiring the testing of the nation’s milk supply amid increasing concerns over bird flu. The influenza virus has been raising alarm since it was detected in a Texas cow back in March. Since then, the virus has spread to over 710 dairy herds across 15 states, with California reporting the highest…

Nearly 500 journalists are on strike at the Guardian and its sister paper, the Sunday-only Observer, to protest the planned sale of the Observer to a small digital startup. “We believe it’s a total betrayal of the Guardian’s values and promises that it’s made,” says Carole Cadwalladr, an investigative reporter and feature writer for the Observer. “The sale of the Observer to a loss-making startup is potentially the death of this…

The video, seen below, shows a shooter assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, outside a Manhattan hotel. The manhunt for the shooter is still underway 3 days later. News outlets have been irresponsibly posting images of a suspect wearing similar clothing, but who can be seen to be wearing a different jacket and carrying a dark backpack. The shooter’s backpack is…