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Law authorizing immediate release of benefits for families of those killed in line of duty will ease financial burdens RICHMOND (March 7, 2012) - Today, Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law a bill which allows the immediate release of a portion of the death benefits available to the families of law enforcement officers and first responders killed in the line of duty. The money can be used to cover funeral expenses while the family waits for full death benefits to be paid out at the conclusion of a standard investigation into the death. HB395 was part of Attorney General Ken...

(CNSNews.com) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday expressed sorrow and anger at the escalating number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, including at least 71 killed by "gun violence." "We can, and we must, do even more" to protect law enforcers," Holder told the spring meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington. "Just as I promised last year, protecting the safety of our law enforcement officers has been, and will continue to be, a key area of focus for the Justice Department," Holder said. Holder noted that 177 law enforcement officers were...

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) said Tuesday it has cut 335 jobs in Decatur, Ill., and that the total number of company jobs cut will be slightly larger than previously announced. Of the 335 jobs cut in Decatur, where ADM is headquartered, 160 employees accepted an early retirement package, while 175 were laid off, ADM spokesman David Weintraub said. The cuts are "weighted toward corporate functions," as opposed to the company's business operations, such as corn and soybean processing, Weintraub said. The cuts are part of a broader plan the grain trader and processor announced in January to cut about...

Gowdy repeats call for Holder to resign ‘the easy way,’ or be impeached ‘the hard way’ Published: 12:01 AM 02/03/2012 | Updated: 5:05 PM 02/03/2012 Tweet inShare6 Email This Article Print This Article By Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller Bio | Archive | Email Matthew Boyle Follow Matthew Boyle Get Matthew Boyle Feed South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy reaffirmed his call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation “the easy way,” or impeachment “the hard way,” during an interview with The Daily Caller after Thursday’s House oversight committee hearing during which Holder testified about Operation Fast and Furious. While...

Once Lamar Smith (R-TX) opened the hearings with comments on Fast and Furious and then passed the baton to Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), it seemed the hearings would be a wash. That’s because it was evident from the start that Conyers was there to carry water for Holder. For example, Conyers used his opening comments to highlight the “life and contributions” of Holder, and to highlight the need for more gun control in the United States. He particularly supported the new requirement for border state gun stores to file special reports on customers who make multiple long gun purchases. (Conyers...

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday he would not defend the 'associations law' that would restrict foreign funding to political NGO's should it be challenged in court. Weinstein's stated intent to refuse to perform his duties was delivered to Netanyahu in writing. Weinstein claimed the proposed foreign funding law was "unconstitutional." The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel call responded to the news by calling on Netanyahu not to be concerned about the Weinstein's refusal to defend the so-called 'associations law.' The Forum said, if necessary, it would defend the government before the Supreme...

It was never a comforting thought to think the Attorney General just can’t be bothered to read his weekly briefings, but it was at least plausible to think Eric Holder overlooked one or two memos about the pernicious and fatal Fast and Furious program. But make that five memos and the AG’s incompetence and negligence appear especially gross: Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa today said that Attorney General Eric Holder received at least five weekly memos beginning in July 2010, including four weeks in a row, describing the ill-advised strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious. The memos...

Earlier this week we saw a sneak preview in Kentucky and Indianapolis of how new EPA emissions regulations will be affecting power generation, jobs and the economy. This came with a warning about the even larger impact which will be felt in Texas next year if all of the proposed rules take effect and are enforced. Seeking to cut off this impending disaster at the pass, the Texas Attorney General filed suit yesterday to put the brakes on enforcement until cooler heads can prevail. Texas, the second-most populous U.S. state, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to block rules...

<p>To the disappointment of Democratic partisans and long-faced members of the media in attendance at today's hearing, Democratic commission member Bernard Pylitt assured the public the Commission's decision was not about partisan politics or a pending criminal case against White.</p>

Representative Darrell Issa on his Exchange with Attorney General Eric Holder May 3, 2011 - Darrel Issa questions Eric Holder on Gunnruner

CBS News is reporting that documents obtained by Congressional investigators looking into the Project Gunrunner scandal include a wiretap authorization from Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer dated in March 2010. Read the CBS story by investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson here. Also included in documents released by investigators is a January 8, 2010 “briefing paper” on Project Gunrunner from the Phoenix, AZ field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The documents were released earlier today as the Senate Judiciary Committee convened for an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice. One document indicates a Holder Asst. Attorney...

The nation's top cop vowed Tuesday to "do all that we can" to combat what he called a "simply unacceptable" number of local and federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In brief remarks before a closed-door meeting with police chiefs from around the country, Attorney General Eric Holder said nothing is "off the table," including an Obama administration push for Congress to approve new legislation. "In recent months, we have really seen a dramatic rise in the number of police officers and other law enforcement agents who have been killed in the line of duty," Holder...

Huber writes "I have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years. We are now seeing an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to avoid a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure."

INDIANAPOLIS -- A deputy in the Indiana Attorney General's Office faces an internal review over online comments he made concerning protesters at the Wisconsin Legislature. Mother Jones, a political website, tweeted Saturday "Sources in Madison say riot police have been ordered to clear protesters from capitol at 2 am," to which Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox responded using his personal account, "Use live ammunition." Editor's Note: Jeff Cox is the son of 6News reporter Norman Cox. In an article published Wednesday on Mother Jones, author Adam Weinstein said Cox continued to advocate the use of deadly force on protesters. Cox...

Tomorrow morning at 9:30AM, VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on the constitutionality of the individual mandate. To watch Ken's testimony live just visit the website below tomorrow morning at 9:30! http://judiciary.house.gov/

Eric Holder sues school for Muslim who was refused Muslim pilgrimage leave. Attorney General Eric Holder, who refused to prosecute Black Panthers for voter intimidation and was actually connected to a company that was tied to a terrorist group, is using the might of the federal government to sue the Berkeley school district in the state of Illinois. The Chicago-area school district is a party in a lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court just this past Monday, and it’s all on behalf of a Muslim woman by the name of Safoorah Khan. It seems that Khan thought that McArthur Middle...

"Republican Steve Cooley is conceding the California attorney general's race to Kamala Harris, giving Democrats a sweep of all statewide offices."

More proof we need to watch the Democratic Party as they leave office.

Virginia's top-ranking attorney warned Monday that the federal government will be able to order Americans to "buy anything" if the state's lawsuit against the health care overhaul goes down, after a federal judge in Richmond heard arguments in the landmark case. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson said he will rule by the end of the year on the constitutionality of the Obama administration's health care law. The case is proceeding separately from one in Florida, where a federal judge last week allowed a multistate challenge to go forward.

Virginia attorney general compares Obama to King George III By Chris Moody - The Daily Caller 6:01 PM 10/18/2010 Virginia’s fiery attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, who argued against the constitutionality of the health care law in federal court this week, has a new line: President Obama is worse than King George III, the English king in power when Americans declared independence in 1776. Cuccinelli said Monday that at no other time in American history had a government forced citizens to purchase a product and gotten away with it, even the British King that sparked the American Revolution. The Patient Protection...

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said Wednesday that she has asked 15 major lenders and mortgage servicers to halt thousands of foreclosure proceedings in the state after reports of faulty and fraudulent documentation in other states. None has indicated it will comply. Swanson said she made the written request to the lenders to ensure that foreclosures in Minnesota are being handled properly. Swanson calls the allegations of misdeeds elsewhere in the country troubling.

NOTE The following text is a quote: Extradited Hacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Masterminding First-Ever Hack Into Internet Phone Networks Defendant Also Ordered to Pay Over $1 Million in Restitution NEWARK, NJ—The first individual ever charged with hacking into the networks of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers and reselling hacked VoIP services for a profit was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Edwin Andres Pena, 27, transmitted over 10 million minutes of unauthorized telephone calls over the victims' networks. Pena, a Venezuelan citizen, fled the United States...

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal demanded today that GMAC/Ally Finance Inc. halt all foreclosures in the state, saying the company has been filing defective foreclosure documents in Connecticut.

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius on Monday downplayed a federal judge's decision allowing Virginia's challenge to healthcare reform to continue, arguing it was merely a procedural move that has no bearing on the underlying issues. "We remain confident that the case is solid," Sebelius told reporters during a phone call on the reform law's effects on Medicare spending. Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a liberal consumer group, echoed that message Monday, saying the ruling "has no effect on the validity of the health reform law."

While former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Holly Benson, running in a close Republican primary for attorney general, is trailing at least one of her rivals when it comes to fund-raising, she did receive some praise for her conservative credentials from Marion Hammer, former president of the NRA and now executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida. Benson’s bid to be attorney general received an A+ from the NRA and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida. “We sincerely appreciate Holly’s support of Second Amendment, self-defense and anti-crime issues,” said Hammer. “Her background of legislative services on Second Amendment issues...

<p>State Sen. Eric Schneiderman -- a candidate for attorney general, the highest law-enforcement post in New York -- was involved in a minor car accident outside the New York 1 studios in Chelsea and then fled the scene, the cable news station reported last night.</p>

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-national-broadband-plan Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release March 16, 2010 Statement from the President on the National Broadband Plan America today is on the verge of a broadband-driven Internet era that will unleash innovation, create new jobs and industries, provide consumers with new powerful sources of information, enhance American safety and security, and connect communities in ways that strengthen our democracy. Just as past generations of Americans met the great infrastructure challenges of the day, such as building the Transcontinental...

Dear 9/11 Families and Friends: President Obama has nominated James Cole to be the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) at the the Department of Justice. This is a critically important position. While Attorney General Eric Holder is the nominal head of the Justice Department, it is the deputy attorney general who actually runs the day-to-day operations of the entire department. For instance, it was Mr. Holder who, as DAG during the Clinton administration, orchestrated the Sept. 1999 clemencies of 16 terrorists belonging to the FALN, a Puerto Rican separatist group that carried out 146 bombings which killed 9 people and maimed...

Connecticut Attorney General and last year's Dance with the Stars winner, Sir Richard Blumenthal was awarded the prestigious Purple Heart with Green Clovers and Blue Diamonds. Blumenthal won the award during combat maneuvers years ago against Leprechauns. Often called, "The Forgotten War," Blumenthal and thousands of other delusional politicians were caught up in a overseas contingency operation against the Wee People. "I left a lot of fine men--brothers--back there on those faire fields," Blumenthal said. "I don't think I ever came back. At least a part of me is back there. Could you cue up that Billy Joel song. What...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal is defending himself against a report he misstated his military service in Vietnam. Blumenthal's campaign on Monday night called a report on the New York Times website, which includes video of him at a 2008 event saying he had served "in Vietnam," an "outrageous distortion" on his record.

MIAMI, April 7 (Reuters) - Five more U.S. states are joining a Florida-led group of states in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida's attorney general said on Wednesday. The joint lawsuit led by Florida and now grouping 18 states was filed on March 23 by mostly Republican attorney generals. It claims the sweeping reform of the $2.5 trillion U.S.healthcare system, pushed through by Democrats in the U.S. Congress after months of bitter partisan fighting, violates state-government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has rejected a request from Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sue over the new federal health care law. Instead, Swanson said Monday she will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the federal government in a lawsuit filed by 13 state attorneys general. The Democratic attorney general sent the Republican governor a letter saying a lawsuit isn't warranted because health care fits squarely within the federal government's authority to regulate interstate commerce.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is back in the national spotlight for the second time this year, capturing headlines across the nation. Caldwell, a Democrat, is garnering his latest bevy of headlines over his decision to join a group of Republicans in suing the federal government over elements of the national health care overhaul signed into law last week.

VIRGINIA PUNDIT: A Civil War over health care?By Steve Vaughan Modified: Saturday, April 03, 2010 March 29,2010 A Civil War over health care? President Obama signed the health care legislation he’d fought so hard for into law last week. It was a bit of a disappointment if you believe, as I do, that affordable health care is a basic right that should be available to everyone, as it is in the rest of the civilized world. Because this bill doesn’t really do it. It does make some advances over our present system. It limits insurance companies’ ability to deny coverage...

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said he won’t sue Washington to challenge the federal health care reform law. “Based on that extensive analysis, I do not believe that Kansas can successfully challenge the law,” Six, a Democrat, said in a statement released Friday. “Our review did not reveal any constitutional defects, and thus it would not be legally or fiscally responsible to pursue this litigation.” U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Topeka Republican, publicly urged Six to file suit earlier this month; she was later joined by U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt and numerous state lawmakers. Now the question is whether some...

TOPEKA | Kansas' Democratic attorney general says he won't join legal challenges by other states to the new federal health care law. Attorney General Steve Six said Friday that his office's review of the law found no constitutional defects

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker has angered Georgia Republicans to the point that some have called for his impeachment. Mr. Baker refuses to join other state attorneys general filing suit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare. He's become the darling of the left by his refusal to file suit. Based on praise by the liberal media, you'd think General Baker was the model of fiscal responsibility and restraint on judicial activism. That bastion of fiscal responsibility, The New York Times writes, that Mr. Baker "has rejected such lawsuits as ‘frivolous' and ‘a waste of taxpayer money.'" AlterNet reports on Mr. Baker's...

After learning of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's lawsuit to prevent Virginians from getting the health care reform that they need, we here at the Democratic Party of Virginia have been overwhelmed at the response from across the Commonwealth. In less than a week, over 10,000 people have signed our petition calling on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to stop using taxpayer dollars and resources on a personal, political fight. Those who have signed know what everyone, including national papers like the New York Times, is now beginning to understand - that this lawsuit has no merit. Yesterday, the New York Times...

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s lawsuit against Obamacare is right on the merits. Nothing in the Constitution grants Congress the power to force Americans to purchase a particular consumer good. Although the Founders made it quite clear that the federal government lacked the power to do anything not specifically authorized, many Americans today assume Washington has the power to do whatever is not specifically forbidden. So most advocates of Obamacare do not even bother trying to justify the individual mandate on constitutional grounds. If challenged, their response resembles Nancy Pelosi’s huffy evasion: “Are you serious?” The few who do try...

http://hrblogs.typepad.com/the_shad_plank/2010/03/cuccinelli-expects-a-decision-by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told Peninsula business leaders that he expects a judicial ruling on his lawsuit against federal health care reform legislation by late this summer. "This case will go quickly," Cuccinelli told about 100 people over a breakfast set up by the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Cuccinelli noted that the complaint is filed in the U.S. District's court Eastern District - which has earned the moniker "the rocket docket" because of the rapid pace of legal wrangling. Cuccinelli acknowledged that he expects his lawsuit to move up the legal chain of command through the 4th...

WILLIAM M. McCOOL, CLERK OF COURT Case 3:10-cv-00091-RV-EMT Document 4 Filed 03/29/10 Page 1 of 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA PENSACOLA DIVISION STATE OF FLORIDA, ET AL. VS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, et al. NOTICE TAKE NOTICE that a proceeding in this case has been set for the place, date, and time set forth below: Place: United States Courthouse One North Palafox Street Pensacola, Florida 32502-5658 Room No: Date: Time: Courtroom Five April 14, 2010 9:00 a.m. CASE NO. 3:10cv91/RV/EMT Type of Proceeding: Rule 16 Scheduling Conference before Senior Judge Roger Vinson...

Indiana Joins Health Care Reform Lawsuit InsideINdianaBusiness.com Report Attorney General Greg Zoeller says Indiana is joining at least 13 other states in a legal challenge to the new federal health care law. He says it is in the best interests of all to raise constitutional questions about the reform package to the United State Supreme Court. Many of Zoeller's concerns are in a 55 page report on the changes, put together at the request of U.S. Senator Richard Lugar. . . . (more) . .

Hundreds of people turned out Saturday to show their support for state Attorney General Rob McKenna and his decision to join a lawsuit with a dozen other states trying to overturn sweeping federal health care legislation.

ROANOKE - A “dramatic overreach of power.“ That’s how Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli described the health care reform bill that passed the House of Representatives Sunday night. In an interview with Washington D.C. NBC affiliate WRC on Monday, Cuccinelli laid out his justification for plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government over health care reform.

Just heard on KING5 TV that a rally to support the WA state AG, who is part of the healthcare suit, will be at 11am this morning, State Capital steps, Olympia WAMcKenna is under fire from the DiM Governor and legislature for defending the Constitution

NEWPORT NEWS - — Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told Peninsula business leaders Friday that he expects a judicial ruling on his lawsuit against federal health care reform legislation by late this summer. Cuccinelli noted that the complaint is filed in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District — which has earned the moniker "the rocket docket." He also said he expects his lawsuit to move up the legal chain of command through the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and "perhaps to the Supreme Court." "This case will go quickly," Cuccinelli told about 100 people at a Virginia Peninsula Chamber of...

Cuccinelli going to court to ‘defend Virginia’. A-G to file suit in ‘Rocket Docket’ today – noon “not unreasonable” Sometime just after 11.15a.m. theAttorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, will file an unprecedented suit questioning the constitutionality of the health care reform bill passed by the House of Representatives this past Sunday.

At a press conference on Thursday morning, Democratic Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, both from Texas, equated the suits filed by fourteen state attorneys general, particularly that of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot, fighting the health care bill recently passed in Congress, to the suits that were filed following the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. (all emphasis is mine) “...[with] the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act--lo and behold states' rights activists wanted to use the Commerce Clause then. Then, African Americans were second class citizens. That legislation was to...

States Fighting HealthCare Law Don't Have Precedent On Their Side A 2005 Supreme Court ruling citing the authority to regulate commerce poses a problem for suits claiming it's unconstitutional for the federal government to force individuals to have insurance. By David G. Savage March 26, 2010 Reporting from Washington - Lawsuits from 14 states challenging the constitutionality of the new national healthcare law face an uphill battle, largely due to a far-reaching Supreme Court ruling in 2005 that upheld federal restrictions on home-grown marijuana in California. At issue in that case -- just like in the upcoming challenges to the...

NC Republicans Want Lawsuit3/25/2010 North Carolina Republican leaders want state Attorney General Roy Cooper to sue and try to block the massive health care overhaul signed into law by President Obama. North Carolina's five GOP members in the U.S. House, state Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger and state party Chairman Tom Fetzer all on Wednesday urged Cooper to join 14 other attorneys general challenging the constitutionality of the law pushed by Democrats. Berger told Cooper that protecting the constitution isn't a partisan issue and joining the case would show that state elected officials are doing all they can to protect...