The criticism comes in the wake of revelations that longtime CBI forensic scientist Yvonne "Missy" Woods routinely deleted and manipulated DNA testing during her nearly 30-year career, creating unreliable results in hundreds of cases.

Washington — Federal regulation of autonomous trucks must “prioritize both workers and safety,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters says.

Washington – The Mine Safety and Health Administration needs to provide better oversight of coal mine operators’ emergency response plans, according to a recent audit conducted by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Richmond, CA – Agencies tasked with overseeing refinery safety in California need better coordination and stronger regulation, concludes a new report from the state’s Interagency Working Group on Refinery Safety.

Washington – The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration must make improvements to its oversight of state pipeline safety programs, concludes an audit released May 7 by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.

Washington — Oregon OSHA is one step closer to having full oversight over temporary labor camps, after federal OSHA published a proposed final approval in the March 13 Federal Register.

Washington — Oregon OSHA now has full oversight of temporary labor camps in the state, after receiving federal OSHA’s final approval.

Washington — The Department of the Interior – not OSHA – will oversee workplace safety and health at offshore renewable energy facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, according to a policy statement published in the Oct. 18 Federal Register.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement will govern workplace safety and environmental compliance at offshore renewable energy facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, according to the Department of the Interior.

Phoenix – OSHA’s threat to take away Arizona’s oversight of construction safety – prompted by alleged inadequacies in the state’s fall protection standard – is unnecessary in light of recently passed legislation, an attorney representing the state said in a May 1 letter to the federal agency.

Washington – Federal oversight of the oil and gas extraction industry should be rethought and potentially changed to a model used in regulating the coal mining industry, one workplace safety advocate said following the release of the AFL-CIO’s annual “Death on the Job” report.

Potentially useful biomarker tests for molecularly targeted therapies are not being adopted appropriately into clinical practice because of a lack of common evidentiary standards necessary for regulatory, reimbursement, and treatment decisions, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Clinical trials for genome editing of the human germline – adding, removing, or replacing DNA base pairs in gametes or early embryos – could be permitted in the future, but only for serious conditions under stringent oversight, says a new report from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

Policymakers’ efforts to reduce threats from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) should include greater oversight of precursor chemicals sold at the retail level – especially over the Internet – that terrorists, violent extremists, or criminals use to make homemade explosives, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

It has been a little over a year since the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, where scientist He Jiankui (pictured above) announced the birth of twins whose healthy embryonic genomes had been edited to confer resistance to HIV.

Two new companion reports from a World Health Organization expert panel provide recommendations to the scientific community on the use of human genome editing. The panel’s work was informed by a 2020 report written by an international commission under the auspices of NAS, NAM, and the U.K.’s Royal Society.

The proposed legislation would direct the EPA to establish a list of indoor contaminants and voluntary guidelines.

“We strongly oppose the administration’s proposal to create a separate government agency to oversee tobacco products. This unfortunately comes from an administration that has repeatedly placed the needs of the tobacco industry on equal footing with public health.

 “Technology’s not going to solve everything, but you need to know how to use it,” Nelson Valderrama, CEO of Intuilize, told HVACR distribution professionals during the recent Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International conference.

BERLIN, 3 June 2016 – Some 20 OSCE parliamentarians were in Berlin this week for an OSCE Code of Conduct conference focused on strengthening parliamentary control of the security sector. The event, which took place 2-3 June, highlighted the important role that parliaments play in both the oversight of armed forces and in increasing the level of political support for the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects, particularly in the context of emerging security challenges.

Speaking at the opening session Thursday, OSCE PA Vice-President Alain Neri noted that at the core of the Code of Conduct is a recognition of the importance of democratic civilian control of the armed and security forces, which means that elected parliaments must have ultimate authority over the activities of the security sector. “It is up to parliamentarians,” he said, “to ensure that fundamental human rights are respected by all security and intelligence services, both public and private.”

He regretted however that “the norms and principles outlined by the Code of Conduct are being breached with a discouraging frequency” and that “there is hardly any participating State across the OSCE region with a comprehensive and fully effective oversight over the private and public security sectors.”

Neri said that members of parliament have a special role to play not only by providing needed oversight, but by increasing the Code of Conduct’s legitimacy and relevance through active political support. For the Code to fulfill its purpose, he pointed out, both experts and parliamentarians are needed to commit to fostering its implementation.

OSCE PA Treasurer and Head of the German Delegation Doris Barnett also spoke Thursday, focusing her remarks on the changing character of conflicts, including the growing number of internal and external actors that are involved in armed conflicts and the role of non-state actors. The term “hybrid warfare” has come to define discussions around security, she pointed out, with civil, economic, informational and technological means being used for aims of war instead of peace.

“To identify who is fighting against whom, with whose support, with which aims and interests – to keep a clear overview, not to mention predicting these relationships, is anything but easy, and therefore an intense inter-disciplinary, trans-sectoral, and international co-operative approach among parliamentarians is required,” said Barnett.

The OSCE PA’s Special Representative in Vienna, Amb. Andreas Nothelle, moderated a session today entitled “Parliamentary Control of Armed and Security Forces and the Role of the Code of Conduct: Perspectives on Furthering Implementation,” and delivered concluding remarks at the closing session.

“If implemented faithfully the Code of Conduct is all-encompassing and sufficiently flexible to address all new challenges of our times,” Nothelle said. “The OSCE PA, in its 2014 resolution on parliamentary oversight over the private and public security sectors, has set guidelines for meeting these challenges.”

Organized jointly by Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, in partnership with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, the event brought together over 100 participants, including parliamentarians from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, senior government officials, representatives of OSCE institutions, OSCE field presences and civil society.

OSCE parliamentarians from 13 countries participated, including several Bureau Members and Special Representatives.

For Vice-President Neri’s full remarks, please click here. Treasurer Barnett’s remarks are available (in German) here.

Related Stories

• Addressing security challenges requires rebuilding trust, says resolution to be considered at OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 25th Annual Session
• Assembly’s work on migration presented to OSCE ambassadors by Ad Hoc Committee Chair Lombardi at special Permanent Council
• Press registration open for OSCE Parliamentary Assembly annual session in Tbilisi

"We made two recommendations to the IRS to improve its oversight over conflicts of interest," Kris Nguyen said.

The post There’s a gap in federal oversight of retirement advisors first appeared on Federal News Network.

GAO estimates the federal government saw $236 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2023

The post House Oversight leaders ask GAO to probe ‘root causes’ of federal improper payments first appeared on Federal News Network.

Rocky Flats Stewardship Council met regularly to monitor testing data at former nuke weapons site.

The Regulatory Authority of Bermuda announced “its expansion into the regulation of the fuel sector, effective 1 January 2024.” A spokesperson said, “This strategic move is in alignment with the Fuel Act 2022, signifying a noteworthy step in the organisation’s commitment to regulatory oversight in Bermuda. This aligns with its mission to serve stakeholders through a proactive, […]

Undercurrents: The Oversight Board's Trump decision, and Merkel's legacy Audio bhorton.drupal 25 June 2021

Was Facebook right to suspend Trump? And how will Merkel be remembered?

In the wake of the storming of Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021, social media platforms took steps to remove former President Donald Trump from their websites for infringing community standards. This step was welcomed by many, but also raised serious questions about the power of social media companies to limit free speech and censor elected officials. The suspension of President Trump from Facebook was referred to the Oversight Board, an independent body of experts set up to scrutinise the platform’s content moderation decisions.  

In this episode, Ben speaks to Thomas Hughes and Kate Jones about the outcome of the Oversight Board’s inquiry into the Trump suspension, and the wider implications for content moderation on social media.  

Then Lara is joined by Hans Kundnani to assess the political outlook in Germany and reflect on the legacy of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel.  

The state's supreme court ruled that it is not its role to tell the legislature how to spend its money, ending a 24-year school-funding battle.

In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) play an indispensable role in modern medicine. Health care providers routinely rely on these tests—which analyze samples such as blood or saliva—to help diagnose conditions and guide potentially life-altering treatment decisions. In 2017, for example, clinicians ordered blood tests during about 45% of emergency room visits in the United States, according to the Centers...

The Dutch Government is to establish a new supervisory body to improve oversight of the country's tax collecting agencies.

The issue is being blown out of proportion, says D.P. Saklani, reacting to the controversy over the removal of sentences on Gandhiji and the RSS; Congress president Kharge says the BJP cannot erase history, no matter how hard it tries

A major fruit crop of temperate regions, APPLE is consumed worldwide as fresh fruit, juice and other food products. This consensus document provides science-based key insights for the regulatory assessment of the environmental safety of genetically-engineered products: taxonomy, reproductive biology, genetics, hybridisation and introgression, and ecology.

Potentially useful biomarker tests for molecularly targeted therapies are not being adopted appropriately into clinical practice because of a lack of common evidentiary standards necessary for regulatory, reimbursement, and treatment decisions, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Clinical trials for genome editing of the human germline – adding, removing, or replacing DNA base pairs in gametes or early embryos – could be permitted in the future, but only for serious conditions under stringent oversight, says a new report from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

Policymakers’ efforts to reduce threats from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) should include greater oversight of precursor chemicals sold at the retail level – especially over the Internet – that terrorists, violent extremists, or criminals use to make homemade explosives, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

It has been a little over a year since the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, where scientist He Jiankui (pictured above) announced the birth of twins whose healthy embryonic genomes had been edited to confer resistance to HIV.

Miami Herald: Florida’s lax oversight of nursing homes spills over from one deadly crisis to the next. “Florida’s solution for one potential crisis — the failure of nearly 100 elder-care facilities to comply with the state’s emergency power law, even as hurricane season approaches — is to allow the homes to pack all their residents … Continue reading Miami Herald: Florida’s lax oversight of nursing homes spills over from one deadly crisis to the next

The New York State Board of Regents is expected to decide in October whether to allow local public school officials to have the final say over education at private schools.

The Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission continues to operate during the COVID-19 crisis. Their focus has changed a bit during the pandemic.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit AILSA CHANG, HOST: When the CARES Act passed more than a month ago, we ran out of adjectives to describe it. Enormous didn't quite cover it. The relief package came in at over $2 trillion. Speedy felt like an undersell. The package passed in record time. And sweeping just sounded like a cliche, even if the legislation did help millions of people. But those three factors - the enormity, the speed and scope of the bill - are why Congress created an oversight panel to keep track of where the money is going. Bharat Ramamurti is one of five members to serve on the Congressional Oversight Committee. He's also managing director of the Corporate Power program at the Roosevelt Institute and a former economic adviser to Elizabeth Warren. Welcome. BHARAT RAMAMURTI: Thank you. CHANG: So what is it specifically that you are overseeing? - because it's not everything in the CARES Act, right? RAMAMURTI: That's right. So part of the CARES Act was a $500 billion

Along with a 2018 ruling by the court that the city had reached full compliance with a 2012 consent decree, the request would dissolve virtually all remaining oversight of the police department regarding its use of force and other issues.

Along with a 2018 ruling by the court that the city had reached full compliance with a 2012 consent decree, the request would dissolve virtually all remaining oversight of the police department regarding its use of force and other issues.

A year and a half after announcing its creation, Facebook has named the initial 20 members of its oversight board, a quasi-independent panel that is to make decisions on thorny issues. The board’s members were named by Facebook and hail from a broad swath of regions around the world. They include Tawakkol Karman, a Nobel […]

A year and a half after announcing its creation, Facebook has named the initial 20 members of its oversight board, a quasi-independent panel that is to make decisions on thorny issues. The board’s members were named by Facebook and hail from a broad swath of regions around the world. They include Tawakkol Karman, a Nobel […]

As Tasmania lures more tourists with its wilderness charms, there are fears the method of holding tour operators accountable for licence breaches in precious wilderness areas is not up to the task.

The records of children and teachers have been left vulnerable to cyber security attacks due to an oversight from the Northern Territory Government, a report from the auditor general's Office has revealed.

(United States First Circuit) - Vacated an order denying a request by Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bondholders for relief from an automatic stay. The bondholders argued that a statute enacted by Congress to address Puerto Rico's financial crisis did not preclude them from obtaining relief so that they could petition another court to place PREPA into receivership. Agreeing, the First Circuit held that the district court erred in concluding otherwise.

(United States First Circuit) - Held that a Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority bondholder did not hold a statutory lien on certain toll revenues. The bondholder contended that, in response to Puerto Rico's financial crisis, the Puerto Rican government was diverting toll revenues to which the bondholder was entitled under a lien and using them for purposes other than paying the bonds. However, the First Circuit concluded that the bondholder held no statutory lien on the toll revenues.

(United States First Circuit) - Vacated an order denying a request by Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bondholders for relief from an automatic stay. The bondholders argued that a statute enacted by Congress to address Puerto Rico's financial crisis did not preclude them from obtaining relief so that they could petition another court to place PREPA into receivership. Agreeing, the First Circuit held that the district court erred in concluding otherwise.

The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission voted Thursday to subpoena L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva for testimony regarding the coronavirus outbreak in the jails.

FOUR MORE applicants are vying to provide mobile payment services in various formats, including one applicant seeking to use phone credit as a cash equivalent, but successful applicants will fall under a new framework the regulator calls its “...

The state has developed an extensive plan for fixing a violation of federal special education law, but federal officials want to see additional corrective actions and plan a visit to follow up.