Imagine that China’s dictator, Xi Jinping, sends one million Chinese troops to invade the United States. Fighting breaks out all over the U.S. as U.S. troops and civilians battle against the Chinese invaders. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are killed. Meanwhile, China has taken over Florida and declared it an overseas province of China, with Chinese nationals taking over control of the Florida government.   read more

If either of these measures becomes law, the NSA will still be able to use 702 to access communications without a warrant through what’s known as the “back door search loophole.” Former NSA director General Keith Alexander has admitted that the NSA utilizes “U.S. person identifiers” to go through data collected under Section 702. Section 702 also has allowed the agency to vacuum up huge volumes of Internet traffic directly from companies such as Facebook and Google.   read more

Justice Antonin Scalia, the present court’s longest-serving member and one of its most conservative, also has the court’s most pronounced history of supporting speech by conservative speakers more often than he does that of liberal speakers, the study showed that his record on 161 cases from 1986 to 2011 revealed that he favored conservative speakers in 65% of the cases they brought before the Court, but voted in favor of liberal free speech in only 21% of their cases.   read more

A status offense is a violation that applies only to minors, such as being truant from school or running away from home. In 1980 Congress amended the act to allow exceptions if a judge determines that jailing is a solution of “last resort.” In many jurisdictions, these exceptions are actually used as an excuse to incarcerate young people without losing federal funding.   read more

Jurors were prohibited from researching anything having to do with the case, including possible sentences, while they were empaneled. Immediately after the conclusion of the case, however, they found that McMillan faces up to seven years in prison. Upon learning this, nine of the 12 jurors have sent a letter to Judge Ronald Zweibel asking that McMillan get community service and probation instead of prison.   read more

Faily was active in Iraqi expatriate groups, particularly those opposed to the reign of Saddam Hussein. After nearly 20 years abroad, Faily returned to Iraq in 2003 in the wake of the U.S. invasion. He quickly found work in that nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.   read more

In a new report, the world’s oldest and largest insurer says, “Earth’s global climate system is warming. This conclusion is supported by a large body of evidence” from scientists and that “increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere” are “largely due to human activity such as combustion of fossil fuels and land use change.” Such changes have caused Lloyd’s to blame almost a third of its losses in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy on climate change.   read more

The political action committee for the Georgia-based company since 1979 has contributed 99% of its political checks to Republicans, according to David Willis at The New York Times. That’s a higher percentage than Koch Industries (88%) or Halliburton (90%). The second most Republican company is Illinois Tool Works (ITW), a century-old Fortune 200 manufacturing company.   read more

Known for its rich-and-famous residents, the city does have some experience with oil drilling. Venoco Inc. has operated a small cluster of oil wells on the campus of Beverly Hills High School for many years. The ban, which goes into effect June 6, applies not only to drilling operations within the city, but also those outside its jurisdiction that would extract oil or gas buried beneath Beverly Hills.   read more

Since being named ambassador to the United States, Ahn has lobbied some state officials over what to call the body of water east of the Korean peninsula in textbooks. In most books, it’s referred to as the Sea of Japan, but Korea prefers it to be known as the East Sea. Despite counterlobbying by the Japanese government, Ahn was successful in Virginia. That state’s textbooks will use both names for the body of water.   read more

Wonekha has been quoted as lamenting the gender difference between legislators in her country. Ugandan male legislators are able to network at pubs and clubs after the sessions, while women are still expected “to rush home and make your spouse comfortable.” Wonekha’s first name—Oliver—has caused some confusion, with some diplomatic directories referring to her as “His Excellency.”   read more

A member of the U.S. Supreme Court seems to believe that states may establish an official religion, despite the constitutional ban on government from doing it. As part of the recent ruling that sanctioned prayers before government meetings, Justice Clarence Thomas offered a different take on the Establishment Clause: state governments are not prohibited from establishing an official religion. Religious scholar Marci Hamilton called Thomas’ view “radically subversive.”   read more

Under intense lobbying from the White House, top U.S. CEOs have reluctantly agreed to skip an upcoming economic forum in Russia. The Obama administration has targeted Vladimir Putin's annual event as another way to punish the leader for his actions in Ukraine. Many CEOs grumbled about being caught in the middle, risking making an enemy of either Putin or Obama. “Some companies are trying to do their best to avoid getting trapped in this minefield,” said one official.   read more

The largest soft drink manufacturers in the U.S. have dumped a controversial ingredient from their sports drinks following a campaign launched by a 17-year-old. Sarah Kavanagh discovered that PepsiCo's Gatorade contained the additive BVO, which functioned as a flame retardant. Medical reports showed that consuming too much created serious health problems, like swollen hands and oozing pores. Aghast by this, Kavanagh decided to launch a petition asking PepsiCo to drop the ingredient.   read more

Governments with close ties to Washington spent more money last year to lobby Congress and the Obama administration than other foreign capitals. Foreign spenders seeking to influence U.S. policymaking were led by the United Arab Emirates, which doled $14 million on American lobbying firms to push its interests, which included “illicit finance issues.” The other top spenders after the UAE were all American allies: Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.   read more

The first three months of 2014 were banner ones for lobbyists representing drug manufacturers, chemical companies and other big-business interests. These industries significantly ramped up their spending on lobbying in Washington, DC. The biggest of the big spenders was Dow Chemical, which poured $5.15 million into its influence-seeking strategies. That total “is far and away the most the company has spent in a quarter over the past five years,” OpenSecrets.org reported.   read more

Climate change is affecting all parts of the United States, but the majority of Americans aren’t very concerned. A new study says droughts, floods, heat waves and other extreme weather are here to stay and yet multiple surveys reveal most Americans don’t take climate change or global warming very seriously. One poll showed only 40% of Americans listed global climate change as a major threat to the nation. Residents of other developed nations put it much higher on their lists.   read more