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Adam in the News

April 22, 2015

Democrat reads names of massacred Armenians from the House floor

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday took to the House floor to read the names of Armenians who were killed in a 1915 massacre by Ottoman Turkish forces. Schiff performed the somber gesture in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which some 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives. He also published the names in a stream on his Twitter feed. "To read all of the names of the more than 1.5 million people murdered at the time would take many weeks and weeks, and I … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

U.S. House passes cyber-threat information bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would make it easier for private companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government without fear of lawsuits. The vote was 307-116 in favor of the measure, with strong support from Republicans and Democrats. Several previous bills addressing the issue had failed, partly because of concerns that they might lead to more surveillance. But a series of high-profile cyber attacks on Sony Pictures … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

Key Lawmakers Reignite Call for AUMF Markup

Two senior Democratic and Republican House lawmakers have begun circulating a letter that calls on the chamber's leadership to order the speedy drafting of an authorization granting President Barack Obama power to wage war against the Islamic State. Rep. Adam B. Schiff, ranking member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and Rep. Tom Cole, a senior defense appropriator, have drafted a letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner urging him "to instruct the appropriate committees to … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

House Passes Cybersecurity Bill After Companies Fall Victim to Data Breaches

WASHINGTON - Responding to a series of computer security breaches in government and the private sector, the House passed an expansive measure Wednesday that would push companies to share access to their computer networks and records with federal investigators. The bill, which came after years of false starts and bitter disappointment for the Obama administration, is similar to a measure approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee and headed for that chamber's floor this spring. The House … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

Mr. President, speak truth to the Armenian genocide

Dear Mr. President: Last week, the Pope caused an international incident by speaking the truth. At a Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica celebrated for Christians of Armenian heritage, Pope Francis spoke plainly about the Armenian Genocide, the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago. When Pope Francis said that "concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," it set off a sad but predictable reaction by a Turkish … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

Armenian hopes crushed as Obama decides not to use the word 'genocide'

White House officials have decided that President Obama will not use the word "genocide" to describe the killings of more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks when he commemorates the deaths Friday, the 100th anniversary of the massacres. The decision, revealed Tuesday in a meeting with Armenian American groups, backs down from a previous Obama pledge. "As president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide," Obama said while running for president in 2008. His decision … Continue Reading


April 22, 2015

Senate Republicans seek to preserve NSA power to collect phone records

Senate Republicans have launched the opening salvo in a battle over government surveillance powers, introducing a bill to preserve intact the National Security Agency's authority to store and search domestic telephone records. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden sparked a public furor in 2013 when he leaked documents showing that the spy agency was secretly collecting telephone metadata - records showing the time, date, duration and numbers called - for use in terrorism … Continue Reading


April 21, 2015

The Word Obama Can’t Bring Himself to Say

In April, there is a Washington ritual as predictable as budget debates and cherry blossoms. This is the month that Armenian lobbyists, public relations groups, diplomats, grassroots activists, celebrities and a handful of sympathetic lawmakers attempt to convince the U.S. government - and the president, in particular - to use the word genocide to describe the killing of more than 1 million Armenians living in the eastern reaches of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The ritual … Continue Reading


April 21, 2015

The effort to declare Armenian massacres a “genocide”

The White House says President Obama will not use the word "genocide" on Friday, when he commemorates the 100th anniversary of the massacre of more than a million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Armenian-American groups are expressing anger over today's announcement. Congressman Adam Schiff - whose district includes the largest population of Armenians in America - said today he's "deeply disappointed" in Obama's decision. "We can't hold ourselves out as a beacon of human … Continue Reading


April 21, 2015

Obama Won’t Use Word “Genocide” To Describe Armenian Massacres

President Obama's decision to not use the term "genocide" later this week when he commemorates the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks prompted strong rebukes from activists Tuesday. Large commemorations are planned for Friday, the 100th anniversary of the massacres in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians perished under a crackdown by the Ottoman government after World War I that included mass executions and so-called death marches through the Syrian desert. The … Continue Reading


April 21, 2015

Taking on Islamic State, with or without Congress

When he greeted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi at the White House last week, President Obama said that the Iraqis and their allies, including the United States, had made "serious progress" in pushing Islamic State out of Iraqi territory. That's true, but the enemy is far from vanquished either in Iraq or in Syria. The most optimistic outlook is for a campaign that will continue well into next year and perhaps beyond. Yet eight months after Obama promised to "degrade, and ultimately … Continue Reading


April 21, 2015

Schiff ‘Disappointed’ Over Obama’s Failure to Recognize Genocide

WASHINGTON-Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution in Congress, released the following statement Tuesday after the White House confirmed to Armenian-American community leaders that the President would not use the word genocide when he issues a statement Friday on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide: "I'm deeply disappointed that the President, once again, will fail to properly describe the extermination of 1.5 million … Continue Reading


April 16, 2015

Turkey’s Century of Denial About an Armenian Genocide

CUNGUS, Turkey - The crumbling stone monastery, built into the hillside, stands as a forlorn monument to an awful past. So, too, does the decaying church on the other side of this mountain village. Farther out, a crevice is sliced into the earth, so deep that peering into it, one sees only blackness. Haunting for its history, it was there that a century ago, an untold number of Armenians were tossed to their deaths. "They threw them in that hole, all the men," said Vahit Sahin, 78, sitting … Continue Reading


April 14, 2015

Armenians praise Pope's comments

Local leaders and community members are praising Pope Francis for his remarks from the Vatican this past weekend that categorized the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as the first genocide of the 20th century. The pope's comments echoed sentiments made by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and quickly generated a wave of positive response from Armenians worldwide, including those living in Glendale who hope the remarks will push top government officials here … Continue Reading


April 13, 2015

Senate Leaders and White House Make Their Cases on Iran Deal Legislation

WASHINGTON - Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee negotiated into the night on Monday to soften language and possibly shorten a congressional review period in legislation that would give Congress influence over the shape of President Obama's nuclear accord with Iran. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, Congress's first legislative effort to muscle into the continuing talks to rein in Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, will formally go … Continue Reading


April 12, 2015

Congress Takes Up Iran-Oversight Fight

Lawmakers determined to claim a larger role in foreign policy will challenge President Barack Obama over his nuclear talks with Iran, taking up legislation this week that would give them the power to review-and potentially reject-a final deal. The bill pits a Congress seeking a larger voice in foreign policy against a White House eager to make its mark on world affairs in its final term in office without congressional interference. The measure will test lawmakers' ability to coalesce … Continue Reading


April 10, 2015

Schiff to Introduce Bill to Reform ‘Troubled Teen’ Programs

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) will introduce legislation next month to reform residential treatment programs nationwide, his office announced Friday. Last March, Schiff joined out State Sen. Ricardo Lara, the LA LGBT Center and Survivors of Institutional Abuse in a national campaign to reform the billion-dollar "troubled teen" industry, as the residential treatment programs are known among survivors. "We cannot ignore reports that far too many young people have died and suffered abuse at the hands … Continue Reading


April 10, 2015

Obama urged to recognize Armenian genocide as 100th anniversary nears

It's become a frustrating rite for Armenian Americans. Every year, in the days leading up to the April 24 anniversary, advocates have lobbied President Obama to use the word "genocide" to describe the killing of more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks in the political upheaval surrounding World War I. And every year, despite promising as a candidate to do so, Obama has declined to use the word. But this time, advocates are hoping, it will be different. This year marks … Continue Reading


April 06, 2015

U.S. Needs to Catch Up on Earthquake Early Warning System

While the United States is the most technologically advanced country in the world, we still lag dangerously behind other countries in implementing one key technology that can save lives, property and infrastructure-an early earthquake warning system. Imagine getting a warning a few seconds or up to a minute before an earthquake hits. It might sound like science fiction, but the technology exists, and we've fallen behind other earthquake-prone countries like Japan and Mexico that already … Continue Reading


April 05, 2015

Al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen exploits chaos to rebuild, officials say

The CIA's drone base in the rippled surface of the Saudi Arabian desert has undergone major renovations over the past few years. Satellite imagery shows dozens of additions that appear to include living quarters, a new clamshell hangar for hiding aircraft and neat rows of freshly planted palm trees. That base is one of the few components of the Obama administration's counterterrorism campaign in Yemen that remain intact. Agency and U.S. military personnel have been pulled out of Yemen … Continue Reading

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