task force

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Pentagon Group to 'Mitigate' UFO Threats

Critic argues investigative body will only 'maintain UAP/UFO secrecy'

(Newser) - There's a new team of experts patrolling the skies for UFOs. The Pentagon on Tuesday announced the creation of a new body to investigate unidentified flying objects, now labeled "unidentified aerial phenomena," after a federal government report published in June failed to explain 143 of 144 sightings...

Bin Laden Hunt Veteran Now Going After Havana Syndrome

Undercover officer is leading CIA task force on the issue

(Newser) - A 10-year counterterrorism veteran who was involved in the hunt for Osama bin Laden will head the CIA's task force on the Havana Syndrome, a mysterious condition that affected up to 200 US officials or their family members around the world, according to reports. The National Security Council is...

Deborah Birx Finds New Jobs
Deborah Birx
Finds New Jobs
Mar 12, 2021 5:30 PM CST

Deborah Birx Finds New Jobs

Retired public health official will work for Bush Institute, among others

(Newser) - A year after the Trump White House announced she'd be coordinating its coronavirus response, Deborah Birx has found new work—and plenty of it. The George W. Bush Institute said Friday that Birx will be joining as a senior fellow concentrating on health disparities, Politco reports. A public health...

New US Variant May Be Behind Surge
New US Variant
May Be Behind Surge
Jan 8, 2021 4:20 PM CST

New US Variant May Be Behind Surge

White House task force warns strain could be 50% more transmissible

(Newser) - The UK variant of the coronavirus may not be the only new strain to be concerned about. The White House coronavirus task force has told states that the US might have its own new strain that's 50% more transmissible. That would partly explain the current surge in cases, the...

Deborah Birx Says She'll Help Biden, Then Retire
Task Force Mainstay
Plans to Retire
Dec 22, 2020 4:02 PM CST

Task Force Mainstay Plans to Retire

Dr. Deborah Birx has taken heat for her Thanksgiving trip

(Newser) - Dealing with a backlash after a Thanksgiving trip, Dr. Deborah Birx said Tuesday she's going to retire, though she'll offer to assist President-elect Joe Biden's administration with its coronavirus efforts first. "I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in,...

Trump: COVID-19 Task Force Is Changing Focus

He says it will continue indefinitely, but it's switching focus to the economy

(Newser) - One day after saying that the COVID-19 task force would be winding down, President Trump said Wednesday that it would continue indefinitely, but focus more on rebooting the economy. Trump tweeted that the panel's focus would be on "SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN." Trump's...

Only 1 GOP Senator Was Left Off Virus Task Force

Mitt Romney was not invited to join bipartisan group

(Newser) - Critics accused President Trump of pettiness Thursday after the White House released a list of lawmakers in the "Opening Up America Again Congressional Group"—and Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican senator not included. The list also includes a dozen Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King...

Obama Task Force Leak: Get Leash on NSA

They want public defenders to argue for the spied upon

(Newser) - A presidential task force plans to call for sweeping changes to the way the NSA does business, including steps to make it more transparent and to increase White House oversight, according to reports today in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal . The panel of five intelligence and legal...

Thank Dick Cheney for Gulf Oil Spill

Blogger connects dots and finds arrow pointing to ex-VP

(Newser) - The scope of the Gulf oil spill is far from clear, but the finger-pointing is already under way, and a lot of fingers ought to be aiming at Dick Cheney, Alex Pareene blogs for Salon . Connecting the dots that begin with a Wall Street Journal exposé, we learn that Cheney's...

Panel: 50 Gitmo Prisoners Must Be Kept Indefinitely

Task force says 110 can be released

(Newser) - A task force spearheaded by the Justice Department recommends that 50 of the 196 detainees at Guantanamo Bay be held indefinitely without trial. The group, providing a specific breakdown for the first time, determined that the 50 prisoners were too dangerous to release and that any trial would expose state...

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