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

These days, many students are looking at the cost of a legal education and getting serious sticker shock. Top schools easily demand $55,000 a year for tuition, and the “low end” options cost in the $40,000 range. Furthermore, many law graduates aren’t getting jobs as lawyers after they finish school and pass the bar exam. Currently there are fewer U.S. jobs for attorneys, thanks to growing online legal services and outsourcing of positions to other countries.   read more

The ACLU has honored nine officials who took a stand against torture of U.S. detainees. Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, who was chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay from 2005 to 2007, advocated for a policy barring the use of evidence obtained through torture. His effort failed, and when Pentagon General Counsel William Haynes became Haynes’ boss, he resigned. “The guy who said waterboarding is A-OK, I was not going to take orders from. I quit,” Davis reportedly said.   read more

“While we recognize Senator Coburn’s reputation as a budget hawk, clearly the minor cost of this bill would have a tremendous payoff to help save lives in our community," said IAVA founder Paul Reickhoff. "This isn’t about spending new money – it’s about honoring the commitment we owe to the men and women who put on the uniform. With the suicide crisis continuing, it is unconscionable for a lone Senator to block a fair vote and for Congress to leave Washington without dealing with this crisis.”   read more

Acting SSA commissioner Carolyn Colvin publicly said the collection efforts would end, but the collections have continued. Some who were reimbursed for the refunds they never received have said the SSA turned around and came after them again for the overpayments. At least five of these individuals are now suing the agency to halt the practice once and for all. The agency’s actions have stirred up members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.   read more

New York businessman George Tsunis blundered his way through his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this year. Under questioning from senators, Tsunis mistakenly labeled Norway’s prime minister a “president” and insulted the Progress Party, accusing it of spewing “hatred” and being “fringe elements” in Norwegian politics. Senator John McCain, whom Tsunis supported in 2008 to the tune of $50,000, excoriated his former supporter during confirmation hearings.   read more

One big problem is the Justice Department office that is supposed to keep updated records is actually “a record-keeping mess.” That has allowed nearly half of required disclosures to be filed late. The law also doesn’t require lobbyists to disclose when they disseminated the materials. Even when lobbyists are found to be in noncompliance with the law, they’re not likely to get into trouble. The Justice Department rarely seeks an injunction against the offender.   read more

More than 160,000 pounds of depleted uranium projectiles and millions of artillery shells were left, unexploded, at the firing range. The Army, however, is showing no signs of cleaning up the mess. In fact, it's asking the NRC to allow them to halt environmental testing of the area. Some local residents worry that the radioactive materials will spread during rains. “The Army never thought much about the future,” said Mike Moore. “No thought was given that you've ruined this land forever.”   read more

The tower “is evidence of a breakdown at NASA, which used to be a glorious symbol of what an American bureaucracy could achieve," wrote the Post's David Fahrenthold. "In the Space Race days of the 1960s, the agency was given a clear, galvanizing mission: reach the moon within the decade. In less than seven, NASA got it done. Now, NASA has become a symbol of something else: what happens to a big bureaucracy after its sense of mission starts to fade.”   read more

More than 200 years after the fact, Congress has finally decided to spend money on preserving battlefields from some of the most critical wars in American history. In a first, lawmakers have expanded the federal matching grants program that until now only supported landmarks from the Civil War. Now the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program will also be able to accept requests to fund and preserve battlefields from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.   read more

Morrissey was allowed to enter into a work-release program, which permits him to continue his duties as a public official. He is allowed to drive his own car between the jail house and his legislative office. And if he doesn’t show up at the jail? “We understand that the legislature can run late into the night; but we will know where he is,” Henrico County Sheriff Michael Wade told the Dispatch. A monitoring device has been secured to Morrissey’s ankle.   read more

Last year, 3.93 million births were recorded in the country. That total represented a slight drop from 2012 but a much more significant one compared to 2007. The fertility rate has fallen 9% since then--an “all-time low,” according to the CDC. The agency also reported that birth rates reached record lows in 2013 among women under age 30. A demographic breakdown revealed that the number of births has dropped for whites, Hispanics and blacks since 2007.   read more

For the first time since 2009, Congress has moved to protect large swaths of undeveloped land throughout the Western United States. By folding several bills into a defense authorization plan, environmentalists were able to push through protection for national parks, wilderness areas and untamed rivers. More than 1 million acres of public lands will be set aside. However, part of the price for the conservation package was the approval of measures benefiting various industry interests.   read more

Signed into law by Governor John Kasich, the new program comes with $10 million in state funding, but school districts that don’t comply with the parochial mandate won’t see a dime of it. Schools cannot work with only a business and a nonprofit, the Ohio Department of Education says. If religion isn’t included, the mentoring program at a school won’t receive funding. “The faith-based organization is clearly at the heart of the vision of the governor,” said the department's Buddy Harris.   read more

A state law gives TransCanada the option until January 22, 2015 of using the power of eminent domain to gain right-of-way access to the lands of Nebraskans who oppose the pipeline that would run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico carrying toxic tar sands oil for export. The law, the Nebraska Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act, is currently under legal challenge. A lower state court nullified the act, and now the Nebraska Supreme Court is reviewing the decision by a Lancaster County district judge.   read more

The new defense authorization bill requires the military to add a mental health professional to boards that determine discharge status. The legislation was inspired by Army veteran Kristofer Goldsmith, who served in Iraq and was discharged for “Misconduct: Serious Offense” after he attempted to commit suicide. Two months later, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The discharge status made Goldsmith ineligible for GI Bill benefits and veterans medical care.   read more

Police mounted a camera on top of a utility pole near Vargas’ home and pointed it at his front door. They collected six weeks of footage, all without a warrant. Vargas was recorded shooting beer bottles in his backyard. Because he is an undocumented immigrant and thus prohibited from possessing firearms, police used the video to obtain a warrant to search the inside of Vargas’ house. He was then arrested for possessing guns and drugs.   read more