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 government has unveiled new rules governing the use of drones in U.S. airspace, sparking debate over how the technology can be employed without compromising Americans’ privacy. The new regulations unveiled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were produced so that Washington can move forward with testing drones at six sites across the country. The testing sites will be operated by private contractors still to be determined.   read more

More than 1,400 wastewater treatment plants in the U.S. and Canada discharge 4.8 billion gallons of treated water into the Great Lakes basin every day. The study found that six chemicals (an herbicide, an anti-seizure drug, two antibiotics, an antibacterial drug and an anti-inflammatory drug) were detected frequently and had a low rate of removal in treated effluent.   read more

Since 2011, the Pentagon has paid $1 billion to Rosoboronexport to provide 63 Mi-17s. Those helicopters are either on order or have already been delivered to Afghanistan. Lawmakers and good government groups complained about the contract, saying the U.S. shouldn’t be doing business with a company accused of selling weapons to Iran and Syria.   read more

Thirty-nine out of the 50 largest fines assessed over the five-year period reviewed were never collected. This included a Shasta County facility that operated without a license and was fined $250,000, but never paid a dime.   read more

Little did Palmer know that her action left her liable for $3,500—the amount KlearGear charges any customer who agrees to the site’s terms and conditions, which included for a time a Non-Disparagement Clause. Palmer wasn’t billed for the $3,500 for three years. Once she learned about the fee, she tried to take down her negative review on Ripoffreport.com—but they charged $2,000 to do so.   read more

News photographers have been banned from events like Obama meeting with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at an outdoor lunch, and his meeting with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. In both cases, White House staff took their own photographs and posted them online.   read more

Starykowicz,was found guilty of four charges and told that a payment of $54,000—which he claims the prosecutor referred to as “blood bond money”—would result in the return of his passport. Starykowicz blamed the accident on IMG, saying it was dangerous to design the bike course with aid stations in the center of the road.   read more

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offered $100,000 each to anyone coming up with ways to encourage condom use and reduce unwarranted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Those ideas include using cow tendon or fish skin to make condoms, crafting them with “shape memory” so they mold to a specific man, or including “pull tabs” to allow for easy donning.   read more

André, who has extensive experience in Africa, has been acting envoy and director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan at the State Department since 2011. André served as deputy executive director for the Bureau of African Affairs from 2010 to 2011.   read more

Most startling, perhaps, is that the problems at Dorn had been identified by the VA two years ago and Congress appropriated $1 million, at the VA’s request, to fix them. Yet, according to documents reviewed by CNN, only a third of those funds were used for their intended purpose. Meanwhile, the waiting list continued to grow, reaching 3,800 as of December 2011.   read more

The United States has been spying on British citizens for at least six years now, despite a multilateral treaty banning such surveillance. The National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting the phone, Internet and email records of United Kingdom citizens not suspected of any wrongdoing—and all with the blessing of British intelligence.   read more

The Education Department has made so much money off student loans that these earnings comprised nearly 50% of the agency’s total outlays last year, the biggest share in 16 years. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been able to request fewer dollars from Congress for his department’s budget because it is so flush with cash from student loans.   read more

Many drivers apparently were not made aware that it was a voluntary process. Furthermore, it was later discovered that the consent forms they were told to sign included fine print that “passive alcohol sensor readings” had been conducted “before the consent process has been completed.” In other words, secret sensors were being employed to test motorists’ breath without their knowledge or consent.   read more

In light of the fact that Connecticut case law holds that trial judges need not explain what factors they considered or how they calculated alimony in their written decisions, the complaint argues that, “meaningful judicial review of trial court awards of alimony is impossible.” The Supreme Court has long held that a statute is unconstitutional if it so vague that an appeals court cannot determine if a trial court’s decision is consistent with it or not.   read more

After months of negotiations between Washington and Kabul, Afghanistan’s top leader, President Hamid Karzai, reportedly signaled to the U.S. that he would support a continuation of the American military mission in his country beyond next year, and even accept U.S. Special Forces raiding private homes. But Karzai wanted something first: a letter from President Barack Obama apologizing for the harm that U.S. forces have brought on Afghan civilians over the past 12 years.   read more

Any hesitancy that Kollar-Kotelly may have indicated in giving approval to the program was outweighed by the assumption of a legitimate need on the part of the George W. Bush administration. “Deference should be given to the fully considered judgment of the executive branch in assessing and responding to national security threats and in determining the potential significance of intelligence-related information,” she wrote.   read more