President Donald Trump invited the Dodgers to the White House. Many of their fans feared that the team, by accepting, would humiliate themselves and betray the team’s large Latino, Asian and African-American fan base. Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, along with co-owner Magic Johnson, have proposed a solution. Trump has promised that if he can keep the championship trophy, the Commissioner’s Trophy, he will end all seizures and deportations of immigrants.   read more

The trademark spat that is prompting the National Park Service to change the names of treasured sites at Yosemite has taken a startling turn -- to the park's gift shops. Merchandise embossed with the name ``Yosemite National Park,'' from T-shirts to coffee mugs to pens, is being pulled from store shelves because of claims by the park's outgoing concessionaire that it owns the name for commercial purposes. Aramark officials plan to sell souvenir items with the name ``Yosemite'' instead.   read more

Amid a budget crisis that has prompted deep cuts to state agencies across the state, death penalty opponents question the wisdom of Oklahoma leaders continuing to defend an increasingly expensive and problem-plagued policy of putting people to death. "It's painful to know how much money we're spending to kill people," said Adam Leathers. "It may or may not bring some people a degree of catharsis, we don't know, but it sure seems to be costing the taxpayers a lot of money."   read more

The suit claims officials illegally deny the applications of abused refugee kids by saying they are no longer children. Last week it was revealed that a senior official in the Justice Dept said 3- and 4-year-old children can learn enough immigration law to represent themselves in court. "I've taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds," said judge Jack Weil. "It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of patience. They get it. It's not the most efficient, but it can be done."   read more

Veracode concluded that the Cruz app — downloaded to more than 70,000 Apple and Android devices so far — had used poor computer code practices and had deployed weak encryption, potentially exposing personal data because it could be intercepted by eavesdroppers. The review further determined the app could also send text messages without the user's permission. A Veracode senior project manager said poor coding practices on the app "could lead to leaked information, or even exploitation."   read more

The South Dakota Legislature approved - and the governor promptly signed - a bill outlawing abortion after the 20th week of gestation based on a belief that this is when a fetus can register pain. Doctors could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,000. The woman would not be punished. Some called the bill unnecessary. The only clinic that performs abortion in South Dakota is Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls, which will not perform abortions after the 14th week of gestation.   read more

The fliers advertised jobs as security guards or bodyguards under the name of a fake company, and promised good benefits, a Christmas bonus and "growth in the short term," according to chief prosecutor Jesus Eduardo Almaguer. Those recruited were, however, employed as street-level drug dealers, not guards. Almaguer said a U.S. woman led the effort to hand out fliers on the streets of Jalisco cities like the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.   read more

Trump supporters typically begin shouting, pointing, jeering — and sometimes pushing, kicking or spitting — at the protester, surrounding the offender in a tight circle. The moment that Nwanguma, who is black, held up her signs, Trump supporters ripped them away and began shoving her, screaming racial slurs and calling her “leftist scum." Protester Rakeem Jones was punched in the face by a Trump supporter. “He deserved it,” said the assailant, John McGraw. “Next time, we might have to kill him.”   read more

"We have been asking for changes to the Army Field Manual and Appendix M in particular for years now," said Raha Wala, senior counsel for defense and intelligence at Human Rights First. "There hasn't been momentum. I now sense that in the first time in years, there is a real interest in looking at it." Their objections come at the same time that GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump wants the U.S. to bring back torture, including waterboarding, a practice that simulates drowning.   read more

In abstract terms, the program’s mandatory, regional design is a great way to test whether new payment incentives can lead to more rational, and perhaps less expensive, prescribing behavior. But the reality is that the change may have negative consequences for doctors and hospitals whose payments will drop. “Does it make a ton of sense in theory? Yes. Is it a more rational payment system? Yes,” said Avalere's Caroline Pearson. “But in the meantime, it causes a lot of disruption.”   read more

Residents first reported problems in the wells in 2008. The water that came out of their faucets turned cloudy, foamy and discolored, and it smelled and tasted foul. Homeowners, all of whom had leased their land to Cabot, said the water made them sick with symptoms that included vomiting, dizziness and skin rashes. A state investigation found that Cabot had allowed gas to escape into the region's groundwater supplies, contaminating at least 18 residential wells.   read more

At least 20 other states allow 17-year-olds to vote in presidential primaries or caucuses, though rules sometimes vary based on political party, according to FairVote, an organization that tracks electoral issues. The ruling could provide a boost for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Younger voters are among his key supporters, and his campaign also filed a federal lawsuit over the policy for 17-year-old voters.   read more

This year the Defense Dept requested almost $1 billion to manufacture Lockheed’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. It is controversial because it is designed to fly for several hundred miles while out of contact with the controller and then automatically identify and attack an enemy ship in an opposing fleet. The report argues that such weapons could be uncontrollable in real-world environments where they are subject to design failure as well as hacking, spoofing and manipulation by adversaries.   read more

The checks are planned for 664 sites where the military has conducted fire or crash training. The Navy is giving bottled water to its personnel at the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is testing wells in a nearby rural area after the discovery of perfluorinated chemicals in drinking water, which the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says may be associated with prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, along with other health issues.   read more

Power criticized the U.N. peacekeeping department for not quickly repatriating a Congolese contingent which had seven allegations of sex crimes in 2015. "How can we let this happen? All of us?," she asked council members, her voice rising with emotion. "...What if those soldiers were sent home sooner? How many kids could have been spared suffering unspeakable violations that no child should ever have to endure, and that they will have to carry with them for the rest of their lives?"   read more

A growing percentage of suburbanites rent, according to a new study. Experts attribute the renter surge partly to the foreclosures, financial struggles, stagnant incomes and tighter credit that followed the mortgage meltdown. Researchers also note the wave of young adults — often renters — in the large, so-called millennial generation, though the Harvard study in December noted a majority of U.S. renters now are 40 and older.   read more

Awad went to Sudan to work for the United Nations on peacekeeping missions for nearly 10 years, serving in Abyei, Kaduqli and Darfur. In 2014, Awad was in the mix to become Somalia’s next prime minister, but the office went to his predecessor in Washington, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who was ambassador to the United States for a few months that year. The following year, Awad was appointed to set up the embassy.   read more