Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Articles by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
Cover Oregon Obamacare fiasco piques interest of House oversight panel
A key House oversight panel is demanding that the Department of Health and Human Services turn over all documents related to the failed Cover Oregon health care information exchange, which was abandoned last year after the state spent an estimated $300 million of federal grant money to build it. Published June 25, 2015
Russia warns U.S. not to store weapons near Ukraine
Moscow issued a stern warning to the Washington Monday that there could be "dangerous consequences" if the United States stationed military equipment to the Eastern border of Ukraine. Published June 16, 2015
Pentagon seeks repeal of Russian rocket ban
The Pentagon has officially said it would face "significant challenges" to ensuring military and intelligence access to space if Congress doesn't loosen restrictions on the use of Russian rocket engines, but top lawmakers aren't buying that and are accusing the military of slow-walking. Published June 15, 2015
Russian fighter jet almost collides with U.S. plane over Black Sea
A Russian warplane flying in international airspace over the Black Sea came within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane last month, CNN reported Thursday night. Published June 11, 2015
Californians sign sham petition supporting ‘Obama’s preemptive nuclear strike’ against Russia
Media analyst and activist Mark Dice, known for "punking" Americans into signing bizarrely ridiculous petitions, reportedly convinced a number of Californians in San Diego to sign a fake petition supporting President Obama's "plan" to launch a "preemptive nuclear strike" on Russia as part of a strategy to "maintain America's superiority." Published June 11, 2015
Russian bombers skirt U.S. airspace; U.S. dispatches bombers to Britian
A pair of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers have been dispatched by the Air Force to join three B-52s at the Royal Air Force Base Fairford, in the wake of Russia doubling its number of long range strategic bomber flights along the U.S. coastline and cruising over NATO ally airspace. Published June 9, 2015
Russian bomber flights buzzing U.S. airspace doubled last year
The number of long-range Russian strategic bomber flights that buzzed U.S. airspace doubled last year from their norm, forcing American jets to frequently scramble and capturing the attention of hawks in Congress who believe the Kremlin is sending a veiled warning to President Obama to keep out of its affairs in Ukraine. Published June 7, 2015
Qatar extends travel ban on ‘Taliban Five’ as talks continue
The Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar has temporarily extended a travel ban on five former Guantanamo Bay detainees who were released last year in exchange for captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Published May 31, 2015
‘Taliban Five’ travel ban set to expire; ex-Gitmo detainees exchanged for Bowe Berghdal
The one-year travel ban imposed on five freed Guantanamo detainees, who last year were exchanged for captured U.S. Army Sgt. Robert 'Bowe' Bergdahl, expires May 31, giving the ex-Taliban fighters the right to leave Qatar and return to Afghanistan or elsewhere. Published May 30, 2015
Martin Luther King III, Rand Paul aim to fight poverty without creating welfare state
Martin Luther King III is on a mission to revive his late father's 1968 anti-poverty campaign in hopes to quell unrest in places like Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri — and he's taking his message straight to the White House and all of the 2016 presidential contenders. Published May 24, 2015
Teamsters spend big on politics while preparing to cut pensions
The Teamsters have begun informing retirees and current workers that their pension benefits may soon be cut, the final ironic twist to a lobbying campaign that saw the union spend its own members' dollars to win the right to shrink their retirement pay. Published May 20, 2015
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber scrapped workable Obamacare exchange for political benefit
Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber was told in early 2014 that the Obamacare state health care exchange his administration spent $305 million building could be made operational. But his administration chose instead to scrap the project and seek a scapegoat to keep the fiasco from harming his re-election, according to evidence turned over to congressional investigators. Published May 18, 2015
Marilyn Mosby joins Prince on stage as Baltimore prosecutor’s conduct raises eyebrows
Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore City State Attorney in charge of prosecuting six police officers for the death of Freddie Gray, Jr., is coming under increasing criticism from defense attorneys and legal scholars who think she is politicizing the case and using her prosecutorial power to create her own celebrity. Published May 11, 2015
Natalie Portman calls Benjamin Netanyahu comments ‘racist’ — says she’s ‘quite leftist’
Oscar winner Natalie Portman apparently thinks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a racist -- or at least talks like one. Published May 7, 2015
China building runway on manmade South China Sea island
New satellite images reveal that China is building an airstrip for its military on a manmade island in a hotly contested maritime area, a move that raised alarm bells for U.S. officials and for U.S. allies in the region. Published April 17, 2015
Mariel Hemingway writes of mental illness in family to help others cope with pain, stigma
Mariel Hemingway was only 6 years old when she learned how to mix cocktails and pour wine as a survival mechanism to keep her parents from arguing. In two new autobiographies, the California native and granddaughter of novelist Ernest Hemingway says she spent her childhood carefully navigating through a "minefield" of alcoholism, arguing, drug addiction, mental illness and suicide. Published April 13, 2015
Rolling Stone U.Va. rape story yields no repercussions for reporter, editors
There will be no repercussions for the investigative reporter or editors responsible for a now-retracted Rolling Stone cover story in November that falsely accused Phi Kappa Psi fraternity members at the University of Virginia of gang-raping a freshman coed. Published April 5, 2015
JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO: How could any Jewish-American support Barack Obama?
Most Jewish-Americans support Mr. Obama because he is a Democrat and they erroneously believe he is like other Democrats before him like John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Published March 29, 2015
Amanda Knox murder conviction reversed by Italian court
A nearly eight-year ordeal for American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito came to a stunning end Friday as Italy's highest court reversed the pair's convictions from an appellate court, effectively finding them both innocent of murder. Published March 27, 2015
U.Va. Rolling Stone rape investigation suspended after police find no evidence
Authorities have suspended their investigation of an alleged gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity, saying they could find no evidence of the incident that was first reported in stark detail in Rolling Stone magazine in November. Published March 23, 2015
