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

Those that rely heavily on coal, like Montana, Kentucky, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Nebraska, don’t have it as bad as their political leaders claim. For instance, West Virginia will have to cut carbon pollution by 19.8%, while Kentucky’s goal is only 18.3%. Meanwhile, Washington state, one of the lowest carbon emitters, is supposed to cut its pollution output by 72%. Louisiana faces a 68% goal, Arizona and South Carolina 52% each, and Texas 44%.   read more

Unlike Viagra, which treats male sexual dysfunction by addressing blood flow, Sprout’s drug alters chemicals in women’s brains to help them achieve sexual desire. Its rejection by the agency triggered a storm of protest from women’s advocacy organizations. “There’s absolutely some sexism at play,” said Streicher of the FDA roadblock. Some doctors disagree, saying the agency rejected the drug because it’s a cure for a non-existent disease.   read more

Using New Jersey correctional statistics from 2008, the study said parolees had a rearrested rate of 51%, while max-outs were at 65%. Similarly, reconviction rates for parolees were also lower (38% vs. 55%), as was the rate for committing new crimes (25% vs. 41%) within three years of release.   read more

The Soufan report estimates less than a hundred individuals left the U.S. for the Syria campaign, and perhaps 3,000 total from all Western countries. That’s about a quarter of all the foreign jihadists and others to join one of the many Syrian rebel groups. In contrast, more than half of all the foreign fighters have traveled from three Arab nations: Tunisia (3,000), Saudi Arabia (2,500) and Morocco (1,500).   read more

With the departure of the Taliban prisoners, more than half of Gitmo’s population now consists of individuals approved for release (78 out of 149). Another Reprieve official, founder Clive Stafford Smith, says the freeing of the Taliban Five was an act of hypocrisy. “The five Taliban were arguably among those who had actually committed crimes, if fighting foreign troops who invaded their country could be deemed an offense. At the very least, they had taken part in hostilities."   read more

The ACLU, which was contesting Florida police’s use of surveillance technology, got quite the surprise recently when federal marshals unexpectedly confiscated police records pertaining to the controversial program that had been requested by the ACLU. The organization was to have reviewed them at a police station in Sarasota when members of the U.S. Marshals Service swept in and took the files.   read more

52.4% of male doctors who made political contributions did so to the GOP during 2011-2012, while only 23.6% of women doctors chose the Republicans. While money from physicians has shifted away from the Republican Party, the profession’s overall political giving has increased dramatically. Over the course of two decades, doctors’ contributions jumped from $20 million to $189 million, according to the study.   read more

Szema’s research shows that 14% of service members who had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan suffered from new-onset respiratory issues. The dust could have been formed in the notorious burn pits used by the military to dispose of everything from plastics to computers to munitions. It is also possible the dust was forged during the 1991 Gulf War, when thousands of tons of ordinance were exploded, turning dust to metal in the process, according to scientists in Italy.   read more

Laroche jokingly remarked in class that his students should get something out of spending the equivalent of a week’s worth of class time taking the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test, one of the Common Core programs, as a trial. The Obama administration gave $350 million to two groups to create standardized to judge states receiving federal education aid.   read more

Chicago’s high-end suburb of Woodridge has been charging anyone who gets arrested within their community a $30 fee, which some consider unconstitutional. Jerry Markadonatos, for one, objected to the charge and filed a class action suit arguing it violated a person’s right of due process. When the defendant’s lawyer, Paul Rettberg, likened the cost to filing fees, Posner shot back: “Arrest is not a privilege. Paying for being arrested is ridiculous.”   read more

Barack Obama, the former constitutional law professor and U.S. senator, once disapproved of presidential signing statements, which allow the White House to ignore or interpret differently certain provisions of new laws passed by Congress. But Obama the 44th president of the United States has often embraced the practice that he once called a “clear abuse” of executive power.   read more

The leaked report criticized agents for intentionally standing in front of speeding automobiles to justify shooting at drivers, as well as questioned the Border Patrol policy of allowing the use of deadly force against individuals who throw rocks or other objects at agents, including those who did so from across the border in Mexico.   read more

The researchers concluded that by eliminating in-person drug buys and conducting sales through the Web, Silk Road was more of a business-to-business operation that facilitated deals between suppliers. And because these arrangements were conducted anonymously, there was no need for late night meet-ups in abandoned warehouses, which have often turned ugly in the street world of narcotics sales.   read more

Grease bandits have grown in number, making off with vats of discarded oil from restaurants worth hundreds of dollars at a time. The booming black market for the “liquid gold” has reached $40 million a year, and cooking-oil crimes have doubled in number in just seven years. Despite the fact that 5,943 grease thefts were reported around the country two years ago, only 188 criminal charges were filed and 97 people were convicted.   read more

“Our model,” wrote the authors of the study, “suggests that changing a severe hurricane’s name from Charley…to Eloise…could nearly triple its death toll.” The fact that hurricanes with female names are perceived—by both men and women—as being less dangerous results in people taking less protective measures when those hurricanes strike. Consequently, more deaths occur.   read more

As part of the agreement, the five detainees were flown from the U.S. facility in Cuba to Qatar, which brokered the exchange. The Qatari government said the Taliban members will be prevented from leaving the country for one year, and the U.S. ally promised to work to ensure American national security does not become compromised by the release.   read more