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Most wanted deadbeat dad gets prison for evading $1 million in child support
Michal Conger
Published: Thu, May 23, 2013
America’s most wanted deadbeat dad is going to jail after fleeing the country to escape $903,789 in child support payments. Robert Sand had evaded payments for a decade, first moving from New York to Florida and then fleeing to Thailand, where he opened a business, after warrants were issued...
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Watchdog: Afghans levy $1 billion in improper taxes on U.S. contractors, IG claims
Michal Conger
Published: Wed, May 22, 2013
Repeated requests for explanations of illegitimate taxes levied on U.S. contractors in Afghanistan went unanswered by the Ministry of Finance, forcing the inspector general in charge of overseeing Afghan reconstruction to rely on information from contractors and non-government sources. The...
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DHS refuses FOIA request for Tsarnaev immigration records
Michal Conger
Published: Thu, May 16, 2013
Department of Homeland Security officials are refusing to release immigration documents for Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, citing the agency’s ongoing investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing allegedly carried out by the Chechen brothers. Both the Boston Globe newspaper...
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EPA inspector general investigating claims agency used fees to block FOIA requests
Michal Conger
Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013
Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Bob Perciasepe has asked the Inspector General for the EPA to investigate claims the agency hindered inquiries by conservative groups by charging fees routinely waived for watchdog and media groups. Perciasepe announced the request for...
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Terrorists on No-Fly List allowed to take commercial flights
Michal Conger
Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013
Several known terrorists in the Department of Justice witness protection program were allowed on commercial flights even though they were on the “no-fly” list intended to help track and restrict their activity, a report by the DOJ Inspector General released Thursday. The witness protection...
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Afghan government arresting U.S. contractors over improper taxes
Michal Conger
Updated: Tue, May 14, 2013
Contractors doing reconstruction work in Afghanistan are being intimidated and even arrested by the Afghan government over nearly $1 billion in taxes they’re supposed to be exempt from, according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. The Afghan Ministry...
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EPA waives fee requests for friendly groups, denies conservative groups
Michal Conger
Updated: Tue, May 14, 2013
Conservative groups seeking information from the Environmental Protection Agency have been routinely hindered by fees normally waived for media and watchdog groups, while fees for more than 90 percent of requests from green groups were waived, according to requests reviewed by the Conservative...
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Detroit emergency manager’s report paints bleak picture of broke city
Michal Conger
Published: Mon, May 13, 2013
Even if Detroit stopped functioning as a city and did nothing but collect taxes and pay its creditors, it couldn’t pay off its debts in 20 years, according to a new report out by a state-appointed emergency manager. That report by Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr paints a bleak...
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State Department wastes language training funds while neglecting high-risk embassies
Michal Conger
Updated: Mon, May 13, 2013
Too few State Department employees at high-risk overseas missions speak the local language, while the department spends thousands of tax dollars each year on training for officials who don’t need foreign language skills, the Inspector General for the State Department said in a recent...
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IRS won't say whether it will discipline employees over targeting of Tea Party groups
Michal Conger
Updated: Fri, May 10, 2013
An Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman told reporters on a hastily-arranged conference call Friday that employees targeting Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny during the 2012 election weren't acting out of political bias, but she couldn't name any groups with less conservative-sounding names.

