When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

The AP found that the firm had advocated on behalf of for-profit colleges, helped broker the purchase of Corinthian's assets and argued in a legal brief that for-profit schools had a free speech right not to inform prospective students about poor graduate employment outcomes. Also, two lawyers overseeing the new for-profit operations, Rose and Dennis Cariello, were former Education Dept officials who had worked at law firms employed by Corinthian in the months before it collapsed financially.   read more

The Indonesia that Obama lived in as a child bore fresh scars from the darkest period in that country's modern history. Shortly before Obama's arrival in 1967, hundreds of thousands of people had been killed in a bloody anti-communist purge. Now Indonesian human rights officials want Obama's help. They are requesting the declassification of secret U.S. files that could shed light on how the killings were planned and the extent that the U.S. collaborated with Indonesia's military.   read more

"Dark money" spending by outside groups that aren't required to disclose their donors is expected to explode during this presidential election year. States can take action to stem the tide but few have. Congress could require more disclosure but hasn't done so. "Unlimited secret contributions are the most dangerous money in American politics," said Wertheimer. The Citizens United ruling triggered a flood of more than $500 million in secret contributions in elections following the ruling.   read more

On Super Tuesday, Dale Clark voted for a local Republican--Mary Lou Bruner--who claimed on social media that President Obama had worked as a gay prostitute in his youth, that the U.S. should ban Islam, that the Democratic Party had John F. Kennedy killed and that the United Nations had hatched a plot to depopulate the world. “I would not discount her on the basis of having those beliefs,” said Clark, a retired pilot.   read more

Dissenting, Judge Wynn called North Carolina's decision to offer an anti-abortion plate but not a pro-choice plate, "viewpoint discrimination." The ACLU expressed disappointment that "North Carolina can now deny drivers on one side of this contentious issue an equal ability to express their views. ...The General Assembly should finally do the right thing and allow citizens on both sides of this controversial issue to purchase specialty plates supporting their views."   read more

The trademark spat that is prompting the National Park Service to change the names of treasured sites at Yosemite has taken a startling turn -- to the park's gift shops. Merchandise embossed with the name ``Yosemite National Park,'' from T-shirts to coffee mugs to pens, is being pulled from store shelves because of claims by the park's outgoing concessionaire that it owns the name for commercial purposes. Aramark officials plan to sell souvenir items with the name ``Yosemite'' instead.   read more

Amid a budget crisis that has prompted deep cuts to state agencies across the state, death penalty opponents question the wisdom of Oklahoma leaders continuing to defend an increasingly expensive and problem-plagued policy of putting people to death. "It's painful to know how much money we're spending to kill people," said Adam Leathers. "It may or may not bring some people a degree of catharsis, we don't know, but it sure seems to be costing the taxpayers a lot of money."   read more

The suit claims officials illegally deny the applications of abused refugee kids by saying they are no longer children. Last week it was revealed that a senior official in the Justice Dept said 3- and 4-year-old children can learn enough immigration law to represent themselves in court. "I've taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds," said judge Jack Weil. "It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of patience. They get it. It's not the most efficient, but it can be done."   read more

Veracode concluded that the Cruz app — downloaded to more than 70,000 Apple and Android devices so far — had used poor computer code practices and had deployed weak encryption, potentially exposing personal data because it could be intercepted by eavesdroppers. The review further determined the app could also send text messages without the user's permission. A Veracode senior project manager said poor coding practices on the app "could lead to leaked information, or even exploitation."   read more

The South Dakota Legislature approved - and the governor promptly signed - a bill outlawing abortion after the 20th week of gestation based on a belief that this is when a fetus can register pain. Doctors could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,000. The woman would not be punished. Some called the bill unnecessary. The only clinic that performs abortion in South Dakota is Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls, which will not perform abortions after the 14th week of gestation.   read more

The fliers advertised jobs as security guards or bodyguards under the name of a fake company, and promised good benefits, a Christmas bonus and "growth in the short term," according to chief prosecutor Jesus Eduardo Almaguer. Those recruited were, however, employed as street-level drug dealers, not guards. Almaguer said a U.S. woman led the effort to hand out fliers on the streets of Jalisco cities like the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.   read more

Trump supporters typically begin shouting, pointing, jeering — and sometimes pushing, kicking or spitting — at the protester, surrounding the offender in a tight circle. The moment that Nwanguma, who is black, held up her signs, Trump supporters ripped them away and began shoving her, screaming racial slurs and calling her “leftist scum." Protester Rakeem Jones was punched in the face by a Trump supporter. “He deserved it,” said the assailant, John McGraw. “Next time, we might have to kill him.”   read more

"We have been asking for changes to the Army Field Manual and Appendix M in particular for years now," said Raha Wala, senior counsel for defense and intelligence at Human Rights First. "There hasn't been momentum. I now sense that in the first time in years, there is a real interest in looking at it." Their objections come at the same time that GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump wants the U.S. to bring back torture, including waterboarding, a practice that simulates drowning.   read more

In abstract terms, the program’s mandatory, regional design is a great way to test whether new payment incentives can lead to more rational, and perhaps less expensive, prescribing behavior. But the reality is that the change may have negative consequences for doctors and hospitals whose payments will drop. “Does it make a ton of sense in theory? Yes. Is it a more rational payment system? Yes,” said Avalere's Caroline Pearson. “But in the meantime, it causes a lot of disruption.”   read more

Residents first reported problems in the wells in 2008. The water that came out of their faucets turned cloudy, foamy and discolored, and it smelled and tasted foul. Homeowners, all of whom had leased their land to Cabot, said the water made them sick with symptoms that included vomiting, dizziness and skin rashes. A state investigation found that Cabot had allowed gas to escape into the region's groundwater supplies, contaminating at least 18 residential wells.   read more

At least 20 other states allow 17-year-olds to vote in presidential primaries or caucuses, though rules sometimes vary based on political party, according to FairVote, an organization that tracks electoral issues. The ruling could provide a boost for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Younger voters are among his key supporters, and his campaign also filed a federal lawsuit over the policy for 17-year-old voters.   read more