 |
|
|
|||||
Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administrations unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government. DOGE has published a list of nearly 800 federal real estate leases that it is seeking to cancel. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect. The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone. The AP also obtained more information about each lease on DOGEs list through other publicly available datasets, including their addresses, the dates the leases had started and were originally expected to expire, and the landlords who own the properties. Of the 47 Social Security Administration offices listed for closure, only some had anticipated dates for when those lease cancellations would take effect. Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of the 26 offices listed as expected to close this year, along with the termination date for each lease, according to the General Services data: Alabama 634 Broad St., Gadsden: Sept. 30 Arkansas 965 Holiday Drive, Forrest City: April 25 4083 Jefferson Ave., Texarkana: May 25 Colorado 825 N. Crest Drive, Grand Junction: June 21 Florida 4740 Dairy Road, Melbourne: May 16 Georgia 1338 Broadway, Columbus: Sept. 30 Kentucky 825 High St., Hazard: April 24 Louisiana 178 Civic Center Drive, Houma: April 25 Mississippi 4717 26th St., Meridian: June 1 604 Yalobusha St., Greenwood: June 1 2383 Sunset Drive, Grenada: May 1 Montana 3701 American Way, Missoula: June 21 North Carolina 730 Roanoke Ave., Roanoke Rapids: Aug. 1 2123 Lakeside Drive, Franklin: June 23 2805 Charles Blvd., Greenville: June 24 1865 W. City Drive, Elizabeth City: June 24 North Dakota 1414 20th Ave. SW, Minot: June 21 Nevada 701 Bridger Ave., Las Vegas: June 1 New York 75 S. Broadway, White Plains: May 31 332 Main St., Poughkeepsie: July 31 Ohio 30 N. Diamond St., Mansfield: May 17 Oklahoma 1610 SW Lee Blvd., Lawton: April 25 Texas 1122 N. University Drive, Nacogdoches: May 7 8208 NE Zac Lentz Parkway, Victoria: May 25 West Virginia 1103 George Kostas Drive, Logan: April 30 Wyoming 79 Winston Drive, Rock Springs: June 20 Meg Kinnard, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
A senior official at Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, giving DOGE direct authority over an agency that it has worked to dismantle, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in the email to State Department staff. It comes after Marocco and DOGE oversaw the gutting of 83% of USAID contracts, shifting the remaining programs under the State Department. Marocco said in his email that he will serve as the State Department’s head of foreign assistance. Marocco wrote that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will effective immediately designate Jeremy Lewin as deputy administrator for policy and programs at USAID and as chief operating officer. Lewin is a DOGE official who has worked with Musk’s government-cutting efforts at USAID and other federal agencies. Rubio also designated Kenneth Jackson as administrator for management and resources who will also serve as the agencys chief financial officer. President Donald Trump also appointed Jackson as acting president of the U.S. Institute for Peace, a government think tank meant to promote conflict resolution. The email outlining the DOGE team member’s appointment came the same day a federal judge ruled that Musk and DOGE appeared to have no constitutional authority for their two-month effort helping the Trump administration shut down State and USAID foreign assistance funding, fire staffers and terminate humanitarian and development contracts. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland, in a ruling Tuesday, indefinitely blocked DOGE from making further cuts to the agency. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by USAID employees and contractors, who argued that Musk and DOGE are wielding power that the Constitution reserves only for those who win elections or are confirmed by the Senate. Their lawyers said the ruling effectively halts or reverses many of the steps taken to dismantle the agency. Matt Brown and Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) A North Dakota jury on Wednesday found Greenpeace liable for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The nine-person jury awarded Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The lawsuit had accused Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy, and other acts. When asked if Greenpeace plans to appeal, Senior Legal Adviser Deepa Padmanabha said, We know that this fight is not over” and said the organization’s work is never going stop. Thats the really important message today, and were just walking out and were going to get together and figure out what our next steps are, Padmanabha said. The organization said it plans to appeal the decision. Energy Transfer called the verdict a win for residents of Mandan, North Dakota, and across the state. While we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace, the company said in a statement to The Associated Press. The company, who previously said the lawsuit was about Greenpeace not following the law and not free speech, also called the verdict a win for Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law. The case reaches back to protests in 2016 and 2017 against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and its Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes reservation. For years the tribe has opposed the line as a risk to its water supply. The multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since mid-2017. Plaintiffs attorney Trey Cox has said Greenpeace carried out a scheme to stop the pipelines construction. During opening statements, he alleged Greenpeace paid outsiders to come into the area and protest, sent blockade supplies, organized or led protester trainings, and made untrue statements about the project to stop it. Attorneys for the Greenpeace entities said there is no evidence to the claims, that Greenpeace employees had little or no involvement in the protests and the organizations had nothing to do with Energy Transfers delays in construction or refinancing. Greenpeace representatives have said the lawsuit is a critical test of First Amendment free speech and protest rights and could threaten the organizations future. Jack Dura, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||