Government

Tim Clemente, a former FBI counterterrorism, has hinted at an intrusive surveillance network that is used by the U.S. government to monitor its own citizens. Discussing the Boston Marathon bombings and the past telephone conversations of now deceased suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his wife Katherine Russell, Clemente indicated that those conversations would be available to investigators.

Clemente admitted that U.S. citizens are under constant government surveillance and that all communications are recorded. He discussed this with host Erin Burnett on CNN last week:

BURNETT: ' Tim, is there any way, obviously, there is a voice mail they can try to get the phone companies to give that up at this point. It's not a voice mail. It's just a conversation. There's no way they actually can find out what happened, right, unless she tells them?'

CLEMENTE: 'No, there is a way. We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. It's not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out.'

BURNETT: 'So they can actually get that? People are saying, look, that is incredible.'

CLEMENTE: 'No, welcome to America. All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not.'

Clemente made the statements on Wednesday evening, and repeated them again on CNN on Thursday night, adding that "all digital communications in the past" are recorded and saved, and stressed that no digital communication was secure.

No wonder there's an obesity crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of Americans fail to meet the federal government's physical activity recommendations.

The findings, which are based on data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a yearly phone survey of adults over 18, were recently published in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The U.S. government's Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults walk for at least 2.5 hours per week or jog for at least one hour and 15 minutes a week. In addition to the aerobic exercise, the guidelines recommend Americans complete push-ups, sit-ups or other muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week.

According to the report, more people are getting in the suggested amounts of aerobic exercise than are participating in the suggested amount of muscle-strengthening activity.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a brand of emergency contraception - Plan B One-Step - for ages 15 and up without a prescription, in defiance of a judge's order to make the so-called "morning after pill" available to all ages.

The FDA's decision to allow Plan B One-Step to be sold over the counter to some teens without a prescription from a doctor falls short of the orders of a judge last month. In a statement late Tuesday, the FDA said:

"The product will now be labeled 'not for sale to those under 15 years of age *proof of age required* not for sale where age cannot be verified."

NASA terminated the Space Shuttle program in 2011, but have still been sending astronauts to the International Space Station and back, however the astronauts have been going to Russia to catch rides on a Soyuz rocket. Of course this isn't exactly the situation that NASA wants, and the space program plans to launch manned space flights in the U.S. again, but the timing has been delayed into 2017.

To replace the space shuttle, NASA plans to pay private space companies like SpaceX to send astronauts to the ISS. Due to government budget cuts, however, the original 2015 date when we'd first see this start happening has gotten delayed by two years. That means, NASA won't be able to send up astronauts to the ISS from the U.S. until 2017. In the meantime, NASA has opted to pay the Roscosmos Space Agency $424 million to extend their contract through 2017.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden commented:

“...It is unacceptable that we don’t currently have an American capability to launch our own astronauts.”

Bolden and NASA are calling upon Congress to approve President Barack Obama's budget request of $821 million for NASA, warning that there will be additional delays beyond 2017 to launch astronauts from the U.S.

Earlier this month, federal agents raided the offices of truck stop company Pilot Flying J, alleging rebate fraud. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III, who also serves as the CEO of Flying Pilot J, is also under fire for his alleged knowledge of the rebate fraud and could be subjected to criminal charges that would lead to the forfeiture of his assets, including the Browns.

No charges have yet been filed, but federal agents have confiscated things like laptops and have in their possession secretly recorded conversations which reveal that the company's top executives were well aware of the fraud that was going on. It could be anywhere from months to years til any criminal charges are actually filed, and legal experts say that it is too soon to know what or when criminal charges could be coming.

Some legal experts have also begun discussing the possibility that the government's investigation could very well lead to a forfeiture order on Haslam's assets, including his ownership interest in the Browns NFL franchise. Forfeiture orders were once mostly limited to drug cases, but have expanded in recent years to include a variety cases such as those involving mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

James Tracy, a media professor at Florida Atlantic University who writes extensively about conspiracy theories, first raised eyebrowns late last year when he claims that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School may not have taken place. Now, Tracy is sparking further outrage as he claims that the recent bombings at the Boston Marathon were the work of the government.

Tracy, a tenured professor at the school, has stated that last week's bombing looks as if it was planned by the government, stating:

"The event closely resembles a mass-casualty drill, which for training purposes are designed to be as lifelike as possible."

He argues that media and "play actors" have made up the bombing, which killed three and injured more than 180. In particular, Tracy, 47, takes issue with the endless stream of photos that support the belief that the bombing did actually take place, and states that many pictures "suggests the possibility of play actors getting into position after the detonation of what may in fact have been a smoke bomb or similarly benign explosive."

Tracy added:

"Since it is mediated, however, and primarily experienced from afar through the careful assemblage of words, images and the official pronouncements and commentary of celebrity journalists, it has the semblance of being, for all practical purposes, "real."’

Based on the stockpile of ammunition and explosives that the Tsarnaev brothers had, authorities believe that the bombings at the Boston Marathon were not intended to be their last. The two brothers, who are suspected of planting deadly bombs at the marathon, told a man whose car they hijacked that they were planning to go to New York.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his brother Dzhokhar, 19, seized a Mercedes-Benz SUV and held the driver hostage as they attempted to flee from police late on Thursday. They reportedly told the driver that the were planning to head to New York, but it wasn't clear what they had planned to do there.

This latest detail has emerged as police confirmed that the pair likely had planned more attacks, and suggested that they may have wrought even greater devastation on the United States after being undetected by the FBI.

Boston police commissioner Edward Davis said on Sunday that authorities believed that the brothers had planned more attacks beyond the Boston Marathon finish line bombings. When they faced police on Friday morning, the men were armed with a small arsenal of guns, explosives, and ammunition.

Earlier this week, the headquarters of Pilot Flying J, of which Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is the CEO and part-owner, was raided by the FBI and IRS. According to an FBI affidavit unsealed on Thursday, an employee of Pilot Flying J told investigators that Haslam knew about rebate fraud at the truck stop chain owned by his family.

The 120-page document was filed in federal court in Knoxville, Tenn., where Pilot Flying J is based out of. It alleges that members of the company's sales team preyed on smaller trucking companies by reducing the amount of rebates they were owed for buying certain amounts of fuel. Special Agent Robert H. Root alleges a "conspiracy and scheme to defraud executed by various Pilot employees to deceptively withhold diesel fuel price rebates and discounts from Pilot customers ... for the dual purposes of increasing the profitability of Pilot and increasing the diesel sales commissions of the Pilot employees participating in the fraud."

This affidavit was filed in order to secure the search warrants used in Monday's raid.

One employee, who was identified only as a confidential source, told investigators that the rebate scheme was discussed during sales meetings that were attended by Haslam and Pilot Flying J president Mark Hazelwood. The informant said that the practice was known by a variety of euphemisms such as "manual rebates" and "screwing", amongst others.

Earlier this week during a news conference, Haslam denied any wrong doing. In a statement on Thursday, he added that "the foundation of this company is built on its integrity and that any willful wrongdoing by any employee of this company at any time is intolerable." Haslam said that Pilot Flying J would continue to cooperate with authorities and conduct its own investigation.

The investigation began when agents were contacted in May 2011 by an informant who said that they had been told about the scheme. The investigation continued through this month.

Despite erroneous reports stating otherwise, no arrests have yet been made in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing that occurred on Monday. A U.S. law enforcement official has revealed, however, that investigators believe that they have identified a suspect from security video.

The source added that police may make an appeal to the public for more information at a news conference to be held later on Wednesday.

CNN has reported earlier that a suspect was in custody, but later retracted its report. In a statement, Boston police confirmed that no arrests have been made, saying:

"Despite reports to the contrary there has not been an arrest in the marathon attack."

The FBI also issued a statement asking the media to "exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting."

The identification of a potential suspect is the most significant break that has been disclosed to the public since the blasts on Monday at the Boston Marathon's finish line which killed three people and injured 176 others. The attack is considered to be the worst on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001.

A letter sent to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker tested positive for the poisonous substance ricin, and initial testing also reveals that ricin was included in a letter addressed to President Barack Obama.

Several U.S. Senators have confirmed that they have receive suspicious letters, with at least one addressed to Senator Roger Wicker confirmed as having included the poisonous substance ricin. The Secret Service is also investigating a letter that was sent to President Barack Obama, which they state that initial testing reveals also contained ricin.

Ricin, which is derives from the castor bean plant, is considered to be the most poisonous, naturally occurring substance. The bean part of the plant is what is poisonous to humans, animals, and insects. The "mash" from the processing of castor beans is ricin, which can be a powder, a mist, or a pellet. It can also be dissolved in water or a weak acid.

A letter mailed to Sen. Wicker that was postmarked in Memphis was intercepted at an off-site Capitol mail facility, and was found to contain a "white granular substance". The letter was quarantined before preliminary test showed that the substance was ricin. The letter has been sent to the FBI for further investigation. A suspect has been identified.

A second suspicious package was received on Wednesday morning at the Washington D.C. offices of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). A spokesman for the senator says that the package is being investigated by Capitol Police. It is not yet know if it was similar to the one addressed to Wicker and Obama, which contained ricin.