Ex-mayoral aide sentenced in money laundering scheme
A former Birmingham mayoral aide has been sentenced to prison in a money laundering scheme. Al.com reports 52-year-old Kenneth Lee Crittenden was sentenced Thursday to two and a half years in prison. Crittenden, Mayor William Bell‘s former administrative assistant, pleaded guilty in December to money laundering through his private business, “EZ Autos.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Dimler said when agents raided the condo of convicted drug dealer Billy Williams Jr. in 2013, they found a document showing he and Crittenden had a joint bank account. Dimler said during interviews with federal agents, Crittenden admitted knowing that Williams was a drug dealer. Prosecutors said Crittenden, who also served prison time on drug charges, bought a Corvette for Williams and told agents he made between $100 and $200 on the deal. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Info dump from extramarital personals Ashley Madison nets some 15 Alabama gov’t emails
A recent public release of information gathered by hackers exploiting an security breaches on the illicit adult personals site Ashley Madison, whose tagline is “Life is Short. Have an Affair.”, yielded the partial user information of about 15 Alabama public employees who used their work email to register for the site. According to recently released domain name data, the state’s top cops were not immune. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency topped the list as the agency with the most email addresses revealed in the recent identity compromise, which affected millions of users around the world including about 15,000 using public domain servers to register with the site. Three addresses bore the “alcop.gov” domain, a group you might think would know better. Addresses tagged “ema.alabama.gov” — which correspond to the state’s emergency management department — tied for second on the scarlet-lettered list along with the Division of Elections and city of Huntsville. Emails tied to the state’s court system, Air Force base, Department of State, and Public Service Commission along with the city of Madison were also represented. As the Birmingham Business Journal noted, the adulterous online dragnet also uncovered the emails of some 7,000 “us.army.mil” addressed, belonging to members of the Army. Individual names tied to the addresses have largely been scraped from the internet by authorities, though activist and reality TV star Josh Duggar — probably the most famous Ashley Madisonian so far outed — was also busted earlier this week.
Jeb Bush struggles to keep spotlight, break away from last name
Having been knocked from his front-runner perch, a fiery Jeb Bush lashed out at Republican rival Donald Trump on Thursday as the former Florida governor fights to energize his stalled campaign and stop the billionaire businessman’s summer surge. Bush’s name recognition and money – see his recent $100 million-plus fundraising haul – have kept him near the top of the Republican pack, where he has saved his most aggressive criticism for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for much of the year. Now slipping in the polls, Bush abruptly changed course over the last 24 hours, following some Republican competitors who acknowledge Trump has become a serious threat that must be dealt with head on. “There’s a big difference between Donald Trump and me,” Bush declared in New Hampshire on Thursday. “I’m a proven conservative with a record. He isn’t.” He charged that Trump “proposed the largest tax increase in mankind’s history” and previously supported partial-birth abortion. “I’ve never met a person that actually thought that was a good idea.” Bush continued: “He’s been a Democrat longer than being a Republican.” The comments represent a sharp shift for Bush that underscores a larger political reality. He has succeeded in raising far more money than his competitors, yet seven months after first signaling serious interest in a White House bid, the former Florida governor has yet to resonate with the vast majority of the GOP electorate. His polling numbers are stagnant, he faces continued questions about his family connections, and influential GOP activists remain skeptical of his conservative bona fides. “I’ve never met a single grassroots voter who supports Jeb Bush,” said Mark Meckler, a co-founder of the tea party movement. If there is any solace for Bush’s team, it’s that he’s not alone. Virtually every candidate not named Trump has suffered in recent weeks as the New York businessman caught fire with frustrated voters and sparked an anti-establishment backlash. Perhaps no one’s standing has fallen further than Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, once considered a top-tier candidate and now languishing in the middle of the pack. Libertarian hero, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, is in danger of missing out on the next primetime debate, as is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former GOP powerhouse reduced to little more than an afterthought amid Trump’s rise. Trump isn’t taking the pressure off his rivals. “I don’t see how he’s electable,” Trump said of Bush Wednesday night in New Hampshire, later describing him as a “low-energy person” who has trouble getting things done. Bush’s team downplays any serious concern, noting that his poll numbers are “steady,” he hasn’t yet begun spending money on advertising, and that most voters aren’t paying serious attention six months before the first votes are cast. “Having a steady vote share in New Hampshire the summer before the primary is a good place to be,” Bush spokesman Tim Miller said. “Jeb’s been working his tail off meeting voters, campaigning the way New Hampshire voters expect,” he continued. “As we get into the fall and winter and people actually start making their decision and the paid element of this campaign begins, that’s going to pay dividends.” Bush may have created more problems for himself this week, however, while trying to capture some of the enthusiasm created by Trump’s immigration rhetoric, including his calls to end birthright citizenship. Bush said he believes there should be greater enforcement against pregnant mothers who cross the border to have children who then gain U.S. citizenship, referring to those children as “anchor babies.” Facing a Democratic-fueled backlash, Bush defended his use of the term Thursday, but stressed that he believes people who are born in the country should have American citizenship. Beyond his new battles with Trump, Bush has consistently faced questions from voters who are skeptical of putting a third Bush in the White House. At his Thursday appearance in Keene, a voter told Bush that his brother “won’t even eat Bush beans.” The same day, another sign emerged that Bush’s family will be a backdrop of his entire campaign, as George W. Bush sent out a fundraising appeal on his younger brother’s behalf. Asked if that conflicts with his characterization that he is his own man, Bush snapped back. “Is that a contradiction?” he said. “I’ve got my own record. I’ve got my own life experience. I’m blessed to have a brother that loves me and wants to help me, over and out.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Chamber weighs role in Democratic primaries
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is weighing a major role in Democratic primaries in key congressional races nationally, which could produce weakened nominees who would be more easily defeated by Republicans, according to an internal memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The unorthodox strategy could heighten Democratic upheaval in battleground states like Florida and Pennsylvania where the party is struggling to unite around a nominee as it fights to retake the Senate – and that appears to be precisely the Chamber’s goal. It comes as the business lobby has already begun spending aggressively on behalf of select Senate Republicans more than a year before the 2016 elections, where the GOP is fighting to hang onto its newly won majority. Republicans must defend seven seats in states President Barack Obama won in 2012, and major clashes are shaping up with Democrats just as determined to snatch back the four or five seats they need to retake Senate control. The electorate could favor Democrats because more young voters and minorities turn out in presidential election years. The memo was written by the Chamber’s top two political officials, Rob Engstrom and Scott Reed, to members of the Chamber’s Public Affairs Committee, a group of around 35 business leaders and others who will meet this fall to discuss political strategy and spending for the upcoming elections. It lists four Senate races and five House races where “intense Democratic primaries could significantly impact candidates moving into the general election,” urges committee members to study them closely, and concludes: “In the past, Democrats have been successful in places like Missouri by playing in GOP primaries. … In 2016, the political environment appears to be shifting.” A senior strategist with knowledge of the deliberations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions, confirmed that the intent of the memo was to encourage involvement in the Democratic primaries, including possible spending on television ads. A weakened Democratic nominee in a state like Florida or Illinois could make the general election much more winnable for the Republican candidate in the fall and require Democratic expenditures that could cut into the party’s budget elsewhere. The approach builds on the Chamber’s successful decision in the 2014 election cycle to insert itself in more than a dozen GOP primaries on behalf of the most viable and business-friendly candidates. That helped Republicans avoid nominating embarrassing and inexperienced candidates who went on to lose to Democrats, as had happened in 2010 and 2012. The Senate races the memo lists are: -Illinois, where incumbent Republican Mark Kirk is highly vulnerable to a challenge from Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth is the establishment choice but is being challenged by former Chicago Urban League leader Andrea Zopp. -Ohio, where Republican incumbent Rob Portman, a Chamber favorite, faces former Gov. Ted Strickland, a strong contender who nevertheless is being challenged by Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld. -Pennsylvania, where Republican Pat Toomey is running for re-election against former Rep. Joe Sestak, whose reputation for erratic campaigning sent Democratic leaders to recruit another Democrat, Katie McGinty, former chief of staff to the governor. -Florida, where Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is running for president. Democratic leaders hoped to unite behind Rep. Patrick Murphy but liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson upset their plans. Republicans face problems of their own in that race with numerous candidates running, but facing Grayson rather than Murphy would improve their prospects. On the House side, Republicans are unlikely to lose their large majority but the Chamber seems determined to keep it that way. The memo lists five races where Democrats may not have a clear shot for a nominee to take down a potentially vulnerable Republican incumbent: Bob Dold in Illinois, Bruce Poliquin in Maine, Cresent Hardy in Nevada, Mike Coffman in Colorado and Martha McSally in Arizona. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Gov. Robert Bentley announces 650 new jobs in in Tuscaloosa County
As reported yesterday on Alabama Today, Gov. Robert Bentley announced Thursday morning that auto parts maker Samvardhana Motherson Group will open a new plant in Tuscaloosa County to supply the state’s Mercedes-Benz plant, located in the nearby town of Vance. The announcement came as welcome news as the state’s unemployment rate continues to lag behind national averages, though jobs numbers were up in July. Bentley, speaking in front of the Old Capitol Building in Montgomery, said the decision by SMG to invest in Alabama was no accident – and that more good news might soon follow it. “Alabama has a positive business climate and a skilled workforce that is second to none,” Bentley said Thursday. “We have worked hard to recruit well-paying jobs for the people of this state, and I am honored to see SMG expand to Alabama. In coming years, the company will provide 650 new jobs and produce even more products that are ‘Made in Alabama’.” SMG Managing Director and Head of Corporate Office Europe and Americas Andreas Heuser, who was also on hand for the announcement, responded in kind. “We would like to thank the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority and Alabama for all the support provided to our Group,” Heuser said. “I can say that we feel very welcome and at home here in Tuscaloosa.” Besides the investment firm’s business relationship with Daimler Mercedes-Benz, the international auto supplier has ties to Audi, VW, Porsche, Renault/Nissan and Ford, connections which could augur more good economic news for Alabama’s burgeoning manufacturing sector. The proposed site of the new auto supplier is located in eastern Tuscaloosa. Construction is slated to begin by the end of 2015.
Ronda Walker: Sorority girls gone wild? Hardly
We’ve all gone crazy you know that, right? The 24/7 news cycle has turned us into a society fixated on the minutia and bursting with an insatiable desire for more and more “news” to analyze, argue, and attack. The Information Age had so much promise, but alas through the improved digital mediums we now enjoy we have actually devolved as a society. We have devolved into a bunch of mass communicating nitpickers. The fact that so many have spent the past week denigrating a group of young women in Tuscaloosa, Alabama simply because they created a fun, whimsical sorority recruitment video makes my point exactly. Y’all, please stop searching for non-issues that you can make into an issue. Surely you can find something better to do with your time. I’ve watched the video and other than a couple of gratuitous booty shots I have no problem with it. It’s a bunch of 18-22 year old sorority girls having fun, which is exactly what all 18-22 year olds should be doing. I saw nothing illegal or disrespectful in the video and I certainly didn’t find it demoralizing to women. Y’all, please. Sorority recruitment videos are a rather new phenomenon, and what I think many fail to realize is that these videos only represent a very small aspect of each Panhellenic groups overall recruitment strategy. Alpha Phi isn’t basing their entire recruitment process on this video; rather it is one piece of a larger strategy to attract women to join their organization. Sorority women across the nation have proven to be some of the strongest leaders on their respective campuses, they are driven to make good grades, and they are extremely philanthropic – according to the 2014 National Panhellenic Conference annual report sororities across the nation contributed $5,793,394.84 to various charities. These facts and many more will be shared throughout the recruitment process. They will also highlight the fact that they have fun, and you know what? They should. Do you remember college? I do and in spite of the academic pressures it was one of the most carefree, fun times of my life. Good for these young women that they are enjoying their college experience and developing relationships that will sustain them throughout their lives. Because you know what, life isn’t always so simple and fun so I’m glad they are seizing these youthful, carefree days. Down the road many of these young women will experience the heartache of divorce. Some will want nothing more than to have a baby yet they will struggle to conceive. Some of these women will get diagnosed with cancer. Some will face debilitating physical conditions preventing them from enjoying much of anything at all. Some of these women will have to become caregivers for their aging parents. Some will experience the ultimate heartache of losing a child. Dreams and expectations will be built up and torn down over and over throughout the course of their lives. So you know what, good for them for laughing and goofing off. Good for them for being silly and having fun and looking gorgeous doing it. Good for them for enjoying life and cultivating friendships because it will be these good times and good friendships that will sustain them during the tough days that will come. So please, take a break from the 24/7 news cycle. Stop seeking out non-stories to turn into stories. Get off of your condescending soapbox and go enjoy life today. Cultivate friendships. Laugh and have fun and be silly. Go ahead, blow a little glitter and act like a sorority girl. Ronda McCaul Walker is a member of the Montgomery County Commission and lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband and four children.
Daniel Sutter: R.I.P. Export-Import Bank, if we’re lucky
The authorization of the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank expired on June 30. Taxpayers can thus celebrate the demise of one of our most offensive corporate welfare programs. Unfortunately corporate welfare programs often prove as hard to kill as Jason from the Friday the 13th movies. Washington politicians are currently working to bring the Ex-Im back to life for a sequel. The Ex-Im Bank was created during the Great Depression to boost our exports. The Bank does so primarily through loans and loan guarantees to foreign companies to use to purchase American products. Many groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, claim that the Ex-Im Bank is good for business. The evidence, however, demonstrates otherwise. The Cato Institute and Mercatus Center at George Mason University have done great work documenting the Bank’s negligible impact on U.S. exports and its role as corporate welfare. Here are some of details, mostly from the Bank’s own data. The $27 billion spent by the Ex-Im Bank in 2013 financed less than 2% of our exports. The Bank directly assisted less than one out of every 200 U.S. exporting firms between 2009 and 2014. In other words, more than 98% of our exports do not require the Bank’s help. And locally, the Ex-Im supported less than 1% of Alabama’s exports. A handful of politically influential corporations receive the lion’s share of benefits: ten companies, led by Boeing and General Electric, received 51% of the Bank’s spending between 2007 and 2014. Some critics refer to the Ex-Im as “Boeing’s Bank,” since the aircraft manufacturer benefits from 35% to 40% of its spending. Many subsidized loans go to large foreign companies that could easily finance purchases from U.S. companies on their own. Proponents like to point to the thousands of small businesses helped by the Bank, but America has over a million small businesses. Over a recent five year span, the Ex-Im directly supported less than half of one percent of U.S. small businesses. Undoubtedly billions of dollars of loans support jobs at Boeing, G.E., and other beneficiary companies. But the Bank hurts employment in other ways. Some of the exports financed by Ex-Im loans are likely diverted from other U.S. firms and do not produce net job growth. Ex-Im Bank loans have harmed some American businesses. U.S. airlines have faced competition from international carriers who charge artificially low fares thanks to their subsidized loans to buy aircraft from Boeing. Delta Airlines attributed a loss of 7,500 jobs to competition funded by American tax dollars. Finally, the taxes to pay for the Ex-Im cost our economy jobs. Programs like the Ex-Im Bank must ultimately prove futile in growing our economy. Taxing Americans to subsidize foreigners to buy our products can only provide a façade of prosperity. Real prosperity occurs when businesses produce goods and services which people, including foreigners, willingly purchase with their own money, and is generated by the 99.5% of U.S. exporters who sell without assistance. The Ex-Im Bank is one of the worst examples of corporate welfare, or crony capitalism. Crony capitalism retains the trappings of competition, with politicians bestowing advantages on favored businesses. A market economy is like a track meet, with firms competing to provide the best goods and services to customers. Crony capitalism is a track meet where the government makes all of the runners – except their favorites – wear fifty pound back packs and combat boots. As costly as corporate welfare is for our economy, the greatest harm may stem from distorting what people believe constitutes free enterprise. If people think that free enterprise necessarily involves favors to enrich businesses, they will reasonably seek government control to reign in business and benefit consumers and workers. The idea of markets entirely free from government intervention may disappear. Our prosperity results from economic freedom, meaning limited government involvement in the economy. Government should create an institutional environment supporting free enterprise, not enrich specific enterprises. Although our nation has never fully lived up to this ideal, the demise of the Export-Import Bank is a step in the right direction, provided that the Bank remains dead. Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision.
Rand Paul: A humanitarian in Haiti, a pit bull in 2016
Even while fighting blindness in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere this week, Republican presidential contender Rand Paul intensified political attacks against rivals in both parties, vowing to continue pressing billionaire businessman Donald Trump in particular as the Kentucky senator embraces the role as the GOP’s leading pit bull. An ophthalmologist by training, Paul left Haiti on Wednesday afternoon after spending four days on a humanitarian mission to the island nation. From a small urban clinic guarded by a team of armed police, Paul joined six eye surgeons who restored vision to dozens of impoverished Haitians, many living for years in blindness because of ailments such as cataracts that are easily treated in the United States. The trip offered the tea party firebrand a brief respite from a presidential campaign in which his standing has slipped substantially in recent weeks. Yet the 2016 election — especially Trump — was a regular topic of conversation when Paul wasn’t in the operating room. “His candidacy is an insult to the intellectual movement that has called for small government for decades,” said Paul, wearing operating room scrubs, in an interview with The Associated Press shortly before returning to surgery Tuesday morning. He described the reality star’s candidacy as “buffoonery” and promised to continue leading the anti-Trump charge “until he fades away.” This week’s Haiti trip was organized by the University of Utah’s Moran Eye Center, an institution that organizes regular missions to combat “curable blindness” in developing nations around the world. Paul participated in a similar mission with the same group last summer in Guatemala. While the trip was not technically part of Paul’s presidential campaign, he invited a small number of political journalists and at least one prominent donor to join him this week. Due to security concerns, his team asked that reporting of the trip be restricted until Paul left the country. His team helped raise at least $70,000 for the eye center before the trip. One of the benefactors was Trump himself, who donated $10,000 to the university at Paul’s request roughly two months ago. That was shortly before Paul began aggressively challenging Trump’s conservative credentials. “No one is pure evil,” Paul said of Trump when asked about his contribution. “He has some redeeming qualities.” Paul arrived in Haiti on Sunday aboard the private jet of Republican donor Gary Heavin, the Texas-based founder of the Curves fitness center franchise. He and his wife were at Paul’s side for much of the week. Heavin, who has been active in Haitian charity work since a 2010 earthquake devastated the capital city, said he’s yet to decide whether to support Paul formally, but he’s already ruled out the other candidates. “If I support anyone in the Republican Party, it’s him,” Heavin said in an interview on a bustling street outside the eye clinic. He said he has the capacity to donate more than $10 million and would back Paul if Heavin is “confident in his ability to influence the process.” Paul, meanwhile, is betting that he can influence the process best by being aggressive. He condemned Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose family foundation has raised more than $30 million for Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. “To me the most disgusting thing about the Clinton foundation is almost none of their money went to charity,” Paul said, suggesting that only 6 percent of the Clinton Global Initiative’s revenue went to charitable grants. A spokesman for the organization didn’t respond to a request for comment. The group previously said grants make up only a small fraction of its charitable work, which is largely handled by staff. Asked about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker‘s recent criticism of Washington-based Republicans, Paul charged, “Part of problem we have is career politicians like Scott Walker.” “Has he ever had a job outside of politics?” Paul went on. “He was running for office when he was in college. I’m not going to be lectured by a career politician, that’s for sure.” And on Chris Christie, Paul noted that the New Jersey governor exaggerated his role in the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks during the recent GOP debate. “People wrap themselves in tragedy so they don’t have to argue the point,” Paul said of Christie. Paul said he had little choice but to go on the attack to stand out in the crowded race. “Right now, people are choosing theatrics over substance,” he said. “And so, you just have to compete in the arena the way the arena is arranged.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Robert Bentley: Cuts are a ‘true crisis’ for the state
Gov. Robert Bentley is continuing the tough talk as he tries to ramp up support for tax increases ahead of a second special session on the budget. The governor said in a Wednesday speech that the state will face a “true crisis” if budget cuts go into effect. The governor said funding cuts to Medicaid, mental health and law enforcement will harm all Alabamians. Bentley said if state parks close because of cuts that he might put up signs naming the lawmakers responsible. The governor is trying to convince legislators to approve $300 million in taxes to fill a projected budget shortfall. A special session ended this month without a budget agreement. The governor said he will call a second special session in early September. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton lawyer says her email server was wiped clean
Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s personal lawyer has told a Senate committee that emails and all other data stored on her computer server were erased before the device was turned over to federal authorities. In a letter sent last week to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, attorney David Kendall said the server was transferred to the FBI on Aug. 12 by Platte River Networks, a Denver firm hired by Clinton to oversee the device. The Senate committee made Kendall’s letter public on Wednesday. In exchanges with reporters earlier this week, Clinton said she was not aware if the data on her server was erased. Confirmation that the server was wiped clean came amid mounting confusion over how sensitive some of the Clinton emails were and how much of their contents should have been released. Clinton aides said at least two emails that might have triggered the federal inquiry were not marked secret at the time. But a Republican senator said Wednesday that U.S. inspector generals for the State Department and the intelligence community were told by some of the agency’s freedom of information specialists that department lawyers released some Clinton materials to the public over their objections. Federal investigators, prompted by a request from the inspector general for the State Department, requested custody of the server to learn whether the data stored on it was secure. NBC News has reported that an FBI team is now examining the server. Forensics experts told The Associated Press this week that some emails and other data may still be extracted from servers even after they are supposedly expunged. Separately, John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, told reporters Wednesday in Columbia, South Carolina, that, to his knowledge, no other copy had been made of the server’s contents other than those her lawyers turned over to the FBI. As campaign officials answered questions, one of Clinton’s rivals said the email issue has become a distraction for the Democratic Party. “I think that it’s a huge distraction from what we should be talking about as a party,” former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told reporters in Nevada. Instead, he said more debates should be held among the candidates to address raising the minimum wage, repairing the country’s infrastructure and other issues. “Until we do, our party’s label is going to be the latest news du jour about emails and email servers and what Secretary Clinton knew and when she knew it.” O’Malley said some people in the Democratic National Committee are “circling the wagons.” Kendall, Clinton’s long-time personal lawyer, said in his letter to the committee that both he and another lawyer at his firm were given security clearances by the State Department to handle a thumb drive that contained about 3,000 emails later turned over to the agency. Kendall said the thumb drive was stored in a safe provided in July by the State Department. Kendall did not say when he was given his clearance from State. The GOP-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Kendall if he had any access to Clinton’s emails before he was given his security clearance. Republican senators on both committees are pressing to see whether any emails sent or received by Clinton on the private server while she was secretary of state contained any secret information that should have been only exchanged on secured, encrypted government communications portals. An inspector general for the State Department said recently that several emails sent to Clinton did include such classified material – signaling that the transmission of those emails may have risked violating government guidelines for the handling of classified material. Clinton campaign officials on Wednesday sought to show that the information contained in the emails that she received did not risk spillage of classified data at the time they were sent to her. During a conference call, campaign aides pointed to a Fox News report that at least two of the emails that prompted the inspector general’s referral may have contained sensitive information but were not marked “classified” at the time they were sent to Clinton by aides. Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon noted that the two emails were sent to Clinton from career diplomats, not political appointees, and that they “did not have information marked `classified’ or any classified documents attached to them.” Information in one of the documents, a 2012 email to Clinton about arrests in Libya, was later classified as secret by the FBI, but then released with redactions this year by the State Department, highlighting a dispute between the two agencies over whether the material should have been made public. A second email from 2011 was also released in full but reportedly contained classified military information. “All this goes to show that when it comes to classified information, not all standards are black and white,” Fallon said. There are disputes even within the State Department, said Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. In a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of State John Kerry, Grassley said several State FOIA examiners told inspectors general that several lawyers from the State Department Office of the Legal Advisor fully cleared some Clinton emails for public release despite recommendations that several passages needed to be censored for national security reasons. “This dispute may have already contributed to at least one classified email being inappropriately released to the public,” Grassley said. He also questioned whether some State Department lawyers may have had potential conflicts of interest. State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach said: “The law is what governs redactions and upgrades. We are making appropriate redactions – following the standards laid out under FOIA for redactions as well as the rules governing classification as defined” by presidential orders. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
First Lady Dianne Bentley and Scholastic to donate 100 Books to Susan Moore Elementary School
Children in Blountsville are getting some new reading material, thanks to Alabama’s first lady Dianne Bentley. Bentley will add 100 books to the shelves of Susan Moore Elementary School library Thursday morning to as part of her literacy initiative through her ongoing partnership with Scholastic. As Alabama’s reading ambassador for Scholastic, Bentley annually selects five schools across the state to visit and gives 100 books to each school library, where she encourages students to read throughout the school year. While at Susan Moore, Bentley will spend time with fourth, fifth and sixth graders, reading her favorite book, Alabama Roadtrips: 52 Great Getaways, and answer student questions.
