The NCA, however, not only finished first—which it has done every time it has participated in the survey—but also scored the highest rating ever: 96. The closest a private-sector company came was Mercedes-Benz with an 88. The NCA’s rating was also 28 points higher than the average mark received by federal agencies: 68.   read more

Couples, particularly middle-income and wealthier ones, don’t have a problem sharing their passwords in the digital age, a new Pew Research study shows. The report says 67% of committed couples have told one another their secret passwords to access some kind of technology or platform. This sharing is more “prevalent in higher-income households,” according to the report, with those earning more than $50,000 more likely to share passwords than those making under that amount.   read more

Trained in special weapons tactics, Craig Kloppenberg used his 30 years on SWAT teams arresting pot dealers to become a private consultant for pot producers in Colorado. He and another ex-cop, Joel Smith, work together to help about a dozen suppliers stay within the confines of the new law. “If you could make more money, give a better life to your family, why not?” Kloppenberg told CNBC. “I believe it's going to be very lucrative.”   read more

If death row inmates can’t be executed using lethal injections, due to drug shortages, then why not go back to firing squads? That’s what some Republican politicians are proposing. The call for a return to shooting convicted murderers has surfaced in two states so far: Missouri and Wyoming. “One of the reasons I chose firing squad, as opposed to any other form of execution, is because frankly, it's one of the cheapest for the state,” Wyoming Senator Bruce Burns told the Associated Press.   read more

With plans to make some forms of higher education tuition-free, on top of already having the fastest Internet service, Tennessee is rebranding itself as a state of innovation and forward thinking. Governor Bill Haslam wants to make all community colleges and trade schools tuition-free for students, regardless of their academic standing or income level. If the legislature supports Haslam’s proposal, Tennessee would become the only state in the country to make two-year higher-education free.   read more

Researchers say the more lead a person has in their brain, the more likely they’ll have impaired neurological functions, including those predisposing them to committing violence. Studies show the amount of lead in Americans’ bodies has declined significantly since the 1970s, when gas stations began phasing out the sale of leaded gasoline and builders ceased using lead-based paint in new homes.   read more

U.S. Representative Robert E. Andrews (D-New Jersey) is resigning from Congress, and who can blame him. It’s not like he was getting anything done. Literally. During the 23 years he’s served in the House, Andrews authored 646 bills, more than any other lawmaker who arrived at the same time as him. And not a single one became law. The Washington Post described Andrews as “America’s least successful lawmaker of the past two decades.”   read more

“Bob and his family have found healing in the forgiveness that they have extended to their son's killer. However, the prosecution strives to forever undo this healing by seeking to avenge one killing with another, over the family's pleas for mercy. For the Autobee family, a death sentence and the accompanying years of litigation, all supposedly done in their son's name, would rob them of peace."   read more

The petition urges that 19-year-old Justin Bieber, who was arrested January 22 in Miami Beach for driving under the influence and drag racing, be deported. Bieber, who also faces charges of resisting arrest in the case, is from Canada. The White House has said it will issue a response to all petitions reaching the threshold of 100,000 signatures. The Bieber petition has met that test.   read more

Eighty-five percent of the injuries occurred to the youngest children—between newborn and age four. Most injuries (70%) occur from kids falling out of the carts, followed by collisions with carts, carts tipping over, and limbs getting trapped in a cart. Nearly 80% of all injuries involved the head.   read more

Marotta fought the state, insisting he was only a sperm donor, per the contract he signed. But under Kansas law, a man is legally a sperm donor only if a doctor performs the insemination. In the case of Schreiner and Bauer, no physician was involved during insemination. This led to Judge Mattivi ruling (pdf) that Marotta was the “presumptive father” and not a sperm donor, which puts him on the hook to financially support a child he’s never known   read more

Prisoners who denied guilt were 2.7 times more likely to decline a last meal than those who admitted guilt (29% to 8%). The meals of those who admitted guilt averaged 2,756 calories and contained 2.5 times the daily recommended servings of protein and fat. The meals of those who had not admitted guilt averaged 2,085 calories. Food most commonly requested was meat (84%), fried food (68%), desserts (66%), and soft drinks (60%).   read more

The park, first established in 1912, was the site of Florida’s largest and bloodiest Civil War battle that killed 3,000 Union and 1,000 Confederate soldiers. It occurred on February 20, 1864, and raged on for four hours. With no marker respecting the sacrifice of so many northern men, the Florida chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War asked the state parks department last year for permission to place an obelisk to honor Union soldiers.   read more

The case involves Michelle L. Kosilek, who was known as Robert Kosilek when he strangled his wife in 1990. Shortly after his conviction, Kosilek asked state prison officials for surgery that would turn him into a woman. In September 2012 by District Court Judge Mark Wolf.approved the surgery on grounds that Kosilek had a serious medical condition, gender identity disorder.   read more

An Internet security provider, Proofpoint, Inc., says it found the first example of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based hacking scheme that included at least one fridge, as well as thousands of computers, TVs, home-networking routers and multimedia centers. The consumer goods were responsible for sending out more than a quarter of the 750,000 malicious emails delivered between December 23, 2013, and January 6, 2014, by unidentified cyber criminals.   read more

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan filed a petition seeking a court order to bar members of the Crips and the Bloods gangs from entering or breaking the law in the community known as the East Aldine Safety Zone. The East Aldine Safety Zone consists of 217 acres of north Harris County. It covers two schools, businesses, and commercial and residential housing.   read more