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

Energy prices and the perceived abundance of energy sources seem to be the most relevant factors in attitudes toward nuclear power, rather than safety concerns prompted by nuclear incidents. Lower gas prices over the past year are likely driving greater opposition toward the use of nuclear power. As Americans have paid less at the pump, their level of worry about the nation's energy situation has dropped to 15-year-low levels.   read more

Phoenix residents have for years felt that state leaders want to make it harder for them to vote, and the mess at the polls Tuesday only heightened their frustration. "Let's be clear — voter suppression happened," said U.S. Rep. Gallego. He said Arizona has a long history of voter suppression, including a new law that blocks voter-outreach groups from handling early ballots. Limiting the number of polling locations disproportionately affects minorities and the working poor, he added.   read more

A government attorney told a federal judge Thursday that appointing attorneys for all children facing deportation would "destroy the framework of the immigration system." An ACLU rep responded, "Every individual in removal hearings is entitled to a full and fair hearing," adding that a child can't get a "fair hearing" without being properly represented by an attorney. The ACLU sued the government in 2014 claiming the only way children can get a fair hearing is to provide them with counsel.   read more

One mine has shut down amid a wave of coal bankruptcies and slowdowns, and another has announced that it will go dark. The closings added to a landscape of layoffs and economic woes concussing mining-dependent towns from West Virginia to Wyoming. And as Hotchkiss searches for a new economic lifeline, some people are asking: What about marijuana? “If we could get it legalized right now, we could create some jobs, and we need the tax revenue,” said town trustee Thomas Wills.   read more

“Sir, I don’t know how to tell you this,” the officer began. Meyers had a 2002 warrant out for his arrest for failing to return a VHS movie rental of “Freddy Got Fingered.” The officer let Meyers go and told him to show up later at the police station, where officers took him to a magistrate’s office, patted him down and put him in handcuffs. The story of Meyers’ ordeal has gained wide attention, spreading from a YouTube video he posted to ricocheting around the world on social media.   read more

The House investigation into how some of the nation’s most prestigious universities acquire fetal tissue has prompted charges of intimidation and coercion, escalating a battle that some researchers fear could shut down studies seeking cures for Parkinson’s disease, the Zika virus and a host of other conditions. University officials fear that the release of the names sought by lawmakers could endanger lives if anti-abortion activists decide to target those involved in fetal tissue research.   read more

Cell site simulators, also known as Stingrays, raise privacy concerns because they can sweep up information about bystanders’ phones and precisely locate people, including inside their homes. Flying a Stingray over a major metropolitan area magnifies the concern by subjecting potentially large numbers of bystanders to privacy violations.The heavily redacted documents we obtained shed a bit of additional light on use of invasive cell site simulators on aircraft.   read more

An industry effort to relax mileage goals could set off conflict with the Obama administration, whose pledge to reduce emissions, as part of last year’s Paris climate accord, includes making gains in vehicle fuel efficiency. Cheap gas prices are prompting consumers to buy trucks and SUVs instead of small cars, hybrids or electric vehicles. With lower gas prices, sales of low-mileage pickups and SUVs have skyrocketed. Meanwhile, electric and hybrid models are languishing in dealer showrooms.   read more

"If businesses are starting to look at North Carolina and says this is not the environment we want to be in, that could have some blowback, and McCrory would be in the bull's-eye," Professor Bitzer said. Thursday evening, state and national gay-rights advocates joined about 400 people at a Raleigh church to vow to fight on when the General Assembly reconvenes next month and in November at the ballot box to elect Cooper and throw out legislators who voted for the law.   read more

Because chronic alcoholism is a medical disability, the Ninth Circuit called it unconstitutional to classify a "habitual drunkard" as lacking good moral character, reversing a deportation order 2-1 Thursday.   read more

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the calls for surveillance, saying it sends "an alarming message to American Muslims who increasingly fear for their future in this nation and to all Americans who value the Constitution and religious liberties." Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders blasted the Republican candidates' proposal. "That would be unconstitutional — it would be wrong," he said.   read more

Lawmakers from states that have been ravaged by opioid addiction said such labeling changes have "done little" to help their communities. "Unfortunately, it has taken FDA far too long to address the grave risks of these drugs that have claimed the lives of thousands this year alone," said Sen. Markey. Critics of the FDA, including Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, called on the agency to add such warnings years ago. Doctors are not required to follow the FDA's label instructions.   read more

Pummill failed to exercise proper oversight as Graves and Rubens transferred lower-ranking managers and then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their senior-level pay while reducing their responsibilities. Accountability at the VA "is almost non-existent," Rep. Miller said. "This dysfunctional status quo will never change until we eliminate arcane civil service rules that put the job security of VA bureaucrats ahead of the veterans they are charged with serving."   read more

During the war, the women were considered civilians. But since 1977, federal law has granted them status as veterans. They had been eligible since 2002 to have their ashes placed at Arlington with military honors. But the Army ruled last year that the WASPs never should have been allowed in and revoked their eligibility. McSally's bill reverses that decision.   read more

Consultants' techniques to discourage workers from forming unions have become more sophisticated — more akin to modern political campaigns than workplace discussions. “Decisions that workers make about whether to choose to stand together are often influenced by paid consultants, or persuaders, who are hired by employers to craft the management message being delivered to workers,” said Labor Secretary Perez. “About 75% of employers hire such persuaders, and too often, workers do not know.”   read more

Anxieties run higher among Republicans in large part because of the ferocious and at times juvenile nature of the insult-laden campaign, which has featured taunts over character and even manhood. About six in 10 Republican primary voters say the overall tone of their party’s nomination fight has been more negative than in past campaigns. And 60% of Republican primary voters said the campaign had made them feel mostly embarrassed about their party.   read more