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 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) top official admitted this week that his agency sometimes bypasses the courts and pries into personal communications without a warrant. Director James Comey’s admission was prompted after he first insisted that the FBI never, ever conducts electronic surveillance without a court order.   read more

About 44% of all personal assets on the planet are owned by only 0.7% of the global population, according to Global Wealth Report 2014 produced by Credit Suisse. In the United States, the richest 1% takes home 20% of the nation’s total income. This is the highest rate since 1928. Credit Suiisse classifies the United States as one of only three developed economies with “very high inequality.”   read more

The Cook County department seizes about 1,500 guns per year. The weapons usually come from drug houses, or are found during the serving of evictions. Typically the guns are taken to an incineration facility for destruction. The newly created jewelry is sold by Liberty for prices ranging from $35 to $1,600. From 20% to 25% of the profits from those sales will go to Children’s Home + Aid, a nonprofit working to stem violence in Chicago neighborhoods.   read more

In 2008, she was sent to Rome as political minister-counselor and in 2010 she began a tour in Iraq as a team leader of a provincial reconstruction team in Basrah. Leaf returned to Washington in 2011 to become deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq affairs and in 2013 she was made deputy assistant secretary for Arabian Peninsula affairs.   read more

Palmer was made deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2008. While there, she helped coordinate the continuing resolution to the Vietnam War, including repatriation of soldiers’ remains and cleanup of chemicals, including Agent Orange. In 2011, Palmer went to Pretoria, South Africa, as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy.   read more

It turns out the U.S. did find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. However, these weapons had been there since the 1980s and the U.S. had a hand in their manufacture. Most damning was that the chemical weapons found had been designed for Iraq by the U.S. under the Reagan administration. So the U.S. government clamped a lid of secrecy on the discoveries, even denying proper treatment to American soldiers who were wounded by them. Military officers were ordered to say nothing or lie.   read more

The CIA review showed that arming foreign forces had “minimal” effect on the outcome of most conflicts. This was especially true when forces fought without American support on the ground. President Obama mentioned the study when asked if the U.S. had acted quickly enough to arm Syrian rebels. “I actually asked the CIA to analyze examples of America financing and supplying arms to an insurgency in a country that actually worked out well,” he said. “And they couldn’t come up with much.”   read more

Some police departments around the country have used private foundations to buy controversial technology not subject to public discussion or official review. The Atlanta Police Foundation bought citywide surveillance cameras and the monitoring center that controls them. Elsewhere, foundation money has been used to buy license plate readers, which can gather information on every vehicle, and Sting Ray devices, which track mobile phone usage.   read more

It’s not Chevron, ExxonMobil or Shell whose wells were found to leak the most methane in 2012. Instead it was a small company, Halcón Resources, which won the title for allowing the highest percentage of the gas to escape into the atmosphere. Halcón’s wells sent 6.5 metric tons of methane into the air for each million cubic feet of natural gas produced at its fracking wells in 2012. Second and third on the list were two other small producers, Bill Barrett Corp., and Unit Corp.   read more

Convergent Outsourcing, collecting a debt allegedly owed to T-Mobile by Courtney Douglass, sent Douglass a collection letter. Such letters are regulated by the FDCPA, which states that the outside of the envelope can contain only the address of the collector. However, Convergent used an envelope with a glassine window which revealed Douglass’ account number and a symbol that could reveal how much money Douglass allegedly owed. Douglass sued, claiming the disclosure violated the FDCPA.   read more

Many of those who lost homes in the housing crisis are finding that their nightmare still is not over. That’s because banks are still pursuing them over the mortgages they defaulted on. Settlements that followed often did not cover the remaining balance on the loan. This has led to “deficiency judgments,” in which debt collectors are now hunting down the former homeowners. In many cases, the judgments result in frozen bank accounts, garnished wages and seized assets.   read more

Animal rights advocates have applauded the FBI's decision to upgrade animal cruelty crimes, putting them in the same category as murders. Going forward, anyone caught abusing animals will risk being charged with a Class A felony. That’s the same grouping of felonies for violent crimes, including homicides and assaults. Previously, animal cruelty was in an “other” crimes category, making them less important. The changes are expected to result in more convictions for those harming animals,   read more

Eric Lee was seen by witnesses pulling Whitlee Jones down the street by her hair before he later blocked her attempt to flee their residence. Jones’ attorney claims she attacked Lee with a knife only as a last resort, and that the state’s stand-your-ground law protects her from prosecution. A judge agreed with Jones. But the state appealed the ruling, insisting the law was never intended to apply to people involved in domestic violence.   read more

They are the legal equivalent of the Odd Couple on the U.S. Supreme Court: Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg and conservative Antonin Scalia. Rarely do these justices agree on much, but recently they found themselves on the same side in criticizing a decision by the court’s majority. Scalia and Ginsburg were joined by Justice Clarence Thomas in their dissent.   read more

After a year in prison on a drug possession charge, Barry Hazle Jr. was ordered into a 12-step program run by Westcare. The program included references to a “higher power” and God. Hazle requested another program, but was told there were none. A federal judge ruled that Hazle’s civil rights were violated by making him attend a program that conflicted with his beliefs. He will receive $1 million from the state and $925,000 from Westcare.   read more

Climate changes are likely to cause numerous negative consequences that will demand the attention of U.S. armed forces, including more risks of terrorism, food shortages, disease and poverty, according to a new Pentagon report. Drought and weather changes may produce unrest in volatile regions like the Middle East. That’s why the military will start amending its strategic planning for warfare in order to better respond to crises brought on by or exacerbated by climate change.   read more