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

A Reuters examination of federal budget cuts found funding reductions were highest in “red” states like Texas and Mississippi, where grant funding saw a 40% reduction. Programs that lost funding ranged from preschool to anti-drug initiatives. In purple states like North Carolina and Ohio, where Obama’s support was more evenly split with the Republican opposition, the funding cuts were smaller—a 27% drop. Meanwhile, Obama-friendly blue states like California only saw a 22.5% drop.   read more

Emoji, also known as emoticons, have become so prevalent in electronic communications that their use is being cited as evidence in trials and arrests. In Pennsylvania, a man was convicted of threatening his wife via Facebook. In his defense, he cited his use of an emoticon indicating he was kidding. In Brooklyn, a teenager was arrested after police saw his threatening statement on Facebook, alongside emoticon images of guns. Police went to his home, where they found marijuana and a firearm.   read more

Posecutors argued Sterling was the source who helped James Risen discuss a CIA operation in his book “State of War.” “The Sterling case – especially in light of Obama’s complicity in the cover-up of torture during the Bush administration,” Dan Froomkin wrote, “sends a clear message to people in government service: You won’t get in trouble as long as you do what you’re told (even torture people). But if you tell [a reporter] something we want kept secret, we will spare no effort to destroy you.”   read more

The largest 20 frackers averaged more than 1.5 violations a day, with many racking up hundreds of violations. Some of the violations included allowing toxic chemicals to flow off drilling sites and into local soil and water; endangering drinking water through improper well construction; and dumping industrial waste into local waterways. The report noted that the numbers collected are probably on the low side.   read more

Until June, Debra Gross worked for the Housing and Urban Development at the same time she was a deputy director for an advocacy group that had interests in HUD decision making. HUD’s IG looked into the Gross case and found it created a conflict of interest. How Gross was even hired by former HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Sandra Henriquez might raise questions, but federal law permits agencies to share employees with outside organizations.   read more

The National Registry of Exonerations reported that 66 of the 125 inmates who were exonerated in 2014 were black. Since 1989, 1,536 people have been exonerated and 715 were black. “This can be attributed to the fact that there are more African-Americans in the U.S. prison system than any other race group,” said ThinkProgress. African-Americans make up only about 13% of the U.S. population at large, but about 43% of the prison population.   read more

Army Major Erik Burris, who had been responsible for supervising sexual assault cases by soldiers, was himself convicted Sunday of crimes including rape and forcible sodomy. Burris was found guilty of two counts of rape, forcible sodomy, four counts of assault, and disobeying an order from a superior officer. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, forfeiture of pay and allowances and dismissal from the Army. He had multiple victims.   read more

Environmentalists contend the coast could suffer the same fate as the Gulf states after the 2010 BP disaster that fouled coastal waters with millions of barrels of oil. “Opening Atlantic waters to offshore drilling would take us in exactly the wrong direction,” said Bob Deans. Democratic senators from East Coast states blasted the move. “All of the risk is put on the backs of our shore communities, and all of the reward goes to Big Oil,” said Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey.   read more

At $889 million, a figure leaked this week at the Kochs’ annual winter donor retreat near Palm Springs, the brothers’ secretive fundraising network goal would dwarf the $657 million spent by the entire Republican Party during the 2012 election. The Koch budget might even match the total spending by both Republicans and Democrats in next year’s contests. And all the while, the Kochs will largely avoid disclosing the sources of their campaign operation.   read more

In 2011, the town of Prague was hit by a 5.6 earthquake that damaged numerous homes, including one belonging to Ladra. She suffered an injury to her knee, requiring two surgeries. She contends the earthquake was the result of fracking wells operated by the defendants, New Dominion LLC and Spess Oil Co. The case has serious ramifications for the oil and gas industry, which could be forced to stop using the controversial drilling procedure if the two companies are found liable.   read more

TSA agents were concerned about the flash cards, and according to George, asked him: “Do you know who did 9/11?” George replied: “Osama Bin Laden.” The TSA supervisor then asked him if he knew what language Osama Bin Laden spoke. “Arabic,” George replied. To which the TSA supervisor replied: “So do you see why these cards are suspicious?” Then, a Philadelphia police officer approached George and handcuffed him. He spent five hours under arrest, cuffed the entire time.   read more

When Judge Michael Schumacher ran out of potential jurors for a trial, he instructed the sheriff, Ron Cramer, to round up more people. Cramer then hit the streets of the 65,000-population city, and using a little known law, ordered some residents to come with him to the courthouse. The sheriff cited the “Insufficient Jurors” statute on the books, which authorizes police to grab any local resident 18 years old with no felony convictions to serve on a jury if a pool runs dry.   read more

The U.S. signed the treaty in 1995. However, President Clinton never submitted it to the Senate for approval. George W. Bush also did not ask the Senate to ratify it. Nor has President Barack Obama, who during his 2008 campaign said, “It is embarrassing that the U.S. is in the company of Somalia, a lawless land. If I become president, I will review this and other human rights treaties.” Supporters say it’s unlikely the U.S. will ratify it soon, with Republicans now in charge of the Senate.   read more

The survey revealed the number of people who said they were struggling to pay their medical bills went down from about 75 million people in 2012 to 64 million people last year. The survey also showed that due to the implementation of Obamacare, the number of uninsured working-age adults in the U.S. declined from 37 million in 2010 to 29 million by the second half of last year. The rise in people with health insurance also meant fewer people skipped going to the doctor in 2014.   read more

Unsolved murders, also known as cold cases, are really starting to pile up across the U.S. That’s because detectives are not clearing homicides like they used to. In 1965, the national homicide clearance rate was 90%. By 2012, that rate had fallen to 64%. As an example, Detroit’s police department arrested only 9% of those responsible for the city’s 386 murders three years ago. New Orleans didn't fare much better, clearing only 15% of its 193 killings in 2012.   read more

Before setting rates, insurance companies check the USGS’s National Seismic Hazard Map, which makes earthquake predictions. This map will now take into account quakes that occur within the vicinity of fracking wells. That means insurance rates may go up in areas considered more at risk of seismic events due to fracking operations. Between 2010 and 2013, central and eastern U.S. had five times as many annual quakes as between 1970 and 2000. Fracking has been cited by scientists as a cause.   read more