Trump said, “We need people to be afraid. Right now many Americans are surprised when protestors are killed, but they’ll get used to it.” Trump did add one suggestion: “Try not to kill white people. That gets too much attention. Stick to protestors of other colors.”   read more

Governor Andrew Cuomo had promised the new ethics measures would clean up the state legislature. But the state’s top law enforcement official said, “It is hard to see how these changes in the law will have any meaningful effect on public corruption.” Among other things, the changes don’t address a loophole in state law that permits businesses to give large campaign donations as smaller gifts in an effort to disguise who’s giving the money.   read more

At least three major financial institutions—Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs—have separately said wind and solar power projects won’t be deterred by cheap oil. Financial experts say petroleum and renewable energy are more exclusive of one another than many people realize. Oil is vital for automobiles and home heating, but provides only 1% of the electrical generation in the U.S. Solar, wind and hydropower, however, contribute to 12% of the electricity on the grid.   read more

Such a change was soundly rejected by survey respondents, with 87% saying at-will would politicize their ranks, weaken morale and possibly drive talented people from the federal workforce.More than 90% said making members of the SES at-will employees would discourage them from disagreeing with their political bosses, or increase the likelihood of being fired if they did speak up. One survey respondent said, “It will convert the SES into a cadre of political hacks.”   read more

Lawyer Matt Anderson said the law opens up “the path of least resistance among its species to have a court adjudicate it in a manner that could ultimately be used to discriminate…" It “explicitly applies to disputes between private citizens,” said ThinkProgress. “This means it could be used as a cudgel by corporations to justify discrimination against individuals that might otherwise be protected.” The law already took root elsewhere; Arkansas on Tuesday passed a bill nearly identical to it.   read more

Judge Ramos ruled that Restis will “not get [his] day in court, but cannot be told why.” Glenn Greenwald called the ruling “a truly stunning debasement of the U.S. justice system” that “occurred through the joint efforts of the Obama Justice Department and a meek and frightened Obama-appointed federal judge, Edgardo Ramos, all in order to protect an extremist neocon front group from scrutiny and accountability. The details are crucial for understanding the magnitude of the abuse here.”   read more

Suspicion was first raised when Mo Hailong was found to be snooping around Iowa corn fields owned by Monsanto and Pioneer. The FBI began to investigate the Mos, tapping cellphone calls and going through email. “Stealing hybrid seeds enhanced with traits such as drought resistance doesn’t pose the same immediate threat as a suicide bomber, but the FBI treats economic espionage and similar trade secret theft as dangerous threats to national security,” wrote the Register's Grant Rodgers.   read more

Times are good for veterans seeking work, either with the federal government or in general. The Office of Personnel Management has reported that a third of all new hires by federal agencies last year were veterans, a record. The increase is a result of the Veterans Employment Initiative, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009 to increase the number of veterans in civil service positions. The effort has involved establishing liaisons at every agency to recruit veterans.   read more

Deborah Maynard will deliver the invocation early this month before the Iowa House of Representatives, marking a first for the legislative body. Maynard was asked to appear before lawmakers by her representative, Liz Bennett, a Democrat from Linn County, who was looking for someone different to give the invocation. Bennett has drawn criticism for the selection of Maynard."I am a little bit surprised that it has become as controversial as it has,” Bennett told KCCI.   read more

The smartphone owners were sent daily messages informing them of the number of times their personal information—current location, incoming and outgoing phone calls, their contacts lists—had been shared with app companies. One message read: “Your location has been shared 5,398 times with Facebook, Groupon...and seven other apps in the last 14 days.” People were taken off guard. One person reacted: “4,182 (times) – are you kidding me? It felt like I’m being followed by my own phone. It was scary."   read more

The costly drugs are effective—with cure rates of upwards of 90% and fewer dangerous side effects. “Curing hepatitis C will likely go on to prevent liver cancer, go on to prevent patients needing liver transplantation, go on to save health care dollars down the road,” said liver specialist Dr. Adam Peyton, who prescribed $13.5 million worth of hepatitis C drugs in Part D last year. “It’s upsetting that there's been so much negative publicity for such a positive breakthrough in medicine.”   read more

Dash-cam footage showed agents smashing the car window of Navy veteran Thomas Sauer, 26, then forcibly yanking him from his car after he chose to “opt out” of discussing his citizenship. “I did it because I don't agree with the premise of questioning citizens without suspicion,” said Sauer. The incident led to his being fired from his job. “Often, local citizens are subjected to extended interrogation and detainment” said ACLU attorney Mitra Ebadolahi. “These are mini police-state zones.”   read more

Statistics show that Alabama judges, who are elected to the bench, have overridden juries in murder cases 111 times since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976. Of that 111, judges have upgraded the sentences to death 101 times. Of those, 80% occurred in the year leading up to a judge’s reelection. "Alabama judges, who are elected in partisan proceedings, appear to have succumbed to electoral pressures.” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor   read more

Base Esperanza, controlled by Argentina and located near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, recorded a temperature of 63.5°F on March 24. That was nearly four degrees higher than the previous high for the continent. “One surprising aspect of the temperatures measured recently at Esperanza and Marambio are that they occurred in autumn, nearly three months past the usual warmest time of the year in the Antarctic Peninsula,” according to the Weather Underground.   read more

One of the emails pointed out the deteriorating security situation right before the Benghazi consulate was stormed, citing “an extremely sensitive source” who pointed out the numerous bombings and kidnapping of aid workers and diplomats by those thought to be loyal to the late Libyan Prime Minister Muammar Gaddafi. Despite the information gathered by Clinton’s network, she said after the Benghazi attacks of September 2012 that U.S. intelligence officials had had no advance warning of the threat.   read more

Until now, the Uniform Crime Report did not include hate crime data for any South Asian-American community. Instead, they were just lumped in with all Asian Americans. Supporters of the change said it was long overdue, noting that hate crimes against Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims have gone up since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.   read more

The TSA has even assigned point values to each suspicious act. Strong body odor, for example, is worth 1 point, while a cold penetrating stare rates 2 points. If a passenger appears to be in disguise, he’s assessed 3 points. Points can also be deducted for a passenger’s age, or if they appear to be traveling with a spouse. Anyone assessed 4 or 5 points is subject to further screening and 6 or more points causes a supervisor to be called.   read more