Trump said, “We need people to be afraid. Right now many Americans are surprised when protestors are killed, but they’ll get used to it.” Trump did add one suggestion: “Try not to kill white people. That gets too much attention. Stick to protestors of other colors.”   read more

The endorsement is “a major coup for the Kraft Foods Group,” said the Times, despite Kraft being "a frequent target of advocates for better children’s nutrition, who contend that many of its products [have] too much fat, sodium, sugar...and preservatives.” Said Andy Bellatti: “You would think an organization that has come under fire for so many years for its relations with food companies might pick something other than a highly processed cheese product for its first endorsement."   read more

The U.S. was responsible for one-third of all defense exports and “was the main beneficiary of growth,” IHS reported. Saudi Arabia surpassed India to become the largest defense market for U.S. weapons makers, as the oil sheikdom increased its defense imports 54% from 2013 to 2014. This year is expected to be another strong year for Saudi imports, rising another 52% to $9.8 billion. “One out of every seven dollars spent on defense imports in 2015 will be spent by Saudi Arabia,” reported IHS.   read more

On average, the country is spending 15% less per pupil in the poorest school districts ($9,270 per child) than in the most affluent ($10,721 per child). The disparity also is visible in 23 states that have favored rich school districts over struggling ones. Pennsylvania has the distinction of having the largest gap between rich and poor districts (33%), while Colorado (0.2%) has the smallest among the 23 states. Education Secretary Duncan called the situation “unconscionable.”   read more

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday approved the Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Protection Act, which would facilitate the sharing of information from private companies to the government. The vote was 14-1 with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) the lone holdout. Wyden called the bill “a surveillance bill by another name.”   read more

Citigroup got the most help of the four in the bailout, $2.5 trillion. That company has at least 427 offshore divisions where it squirrels away profits out of reach of the American people. Those funds, as of early 2014, totaled $43.8 billion, which would mean $11.7 billion in tax revenue for the United States if they were brought to this country. Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat was rewarded with $1.5 million in salary, $4.5 million in bonuses and $8 million in stock for his work in 2014.   read more

The doll, set to be released in the fall and developed with the startup ToyTalk, will record what the child (or anyone else within range) says and use voice-recognition software to analyze the speech, compare it to other things previously said by the child, and make an appropriate response. Mattel will email parents with transcripts of the child’s conversations with Barbie.   read more

Officials in rural Jefferson County, Florida, have put into place an election map that includes one district in which nearly half the residents are ineligible to vote—because they’re in prison. Jefferson officials included about 1,157 inmates at the Jefferson Correctional Institution among the residents of District 3, comprising 43.2% of the voting age population in the district.   read more

Moed referred to himself as “Bitch Boy”—but Leathers discovered his name when he sent her a pink leash and collar via Amazon and his name was on the package. “I Googled him and found out he’s a lawmaker. Apparently only politicians can pick up on my pheromones,” Leathers said. Leathers was somewhat disappointed that another liberal politician had been caught up in a scandal involving her. “I’m really sad,” she said. “I was really hoping it was a Republican.”   read more

The El Salvadoran defense official who oversaw his country’s national guard when four American churchwomen were raped and murdered 35 years ago is facing deportation from the United States. The Board of Immigration Appeals, part of the Department of Justice, ruled that General Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova should be kicked out of the country for violating a 2004 federal human rights law.   read more

Whichever airline had shorter average actual flight times “won” each pair. Virgin America ran away from the competition. That airline beat JetBlue 15-1, outshined American 22-4 and routed United 50-2, giving it an 87% winning streak. Which airline was the cellar-dweller among those measured by Silver? United took the top draft pick, winning only 27% of the time. This is the same winning percentage as the current Los Angeles Lakers.   read more

So many trains carrying crude oil from North Dakota pass through Pennsylvania that an estimated 1.5 million residents live in evacuation zones near rail lines. The 1.5 million Pennsylvanians represent 11.5% of the state population. In addition, 550 K-12 schools, 37 hospitals and 61 nursing homes are in evacuation zones.   read more

Benito Vasquez-Hernandez and his son Moises Vasquez-Santiago were arrested in September 2012 because of the suspicion that Moises’ older brother, Eloy Vasquez-Santiago, had killed a woman. Moises was released from custody last September after 727 days in jail when he gave a statement to prosecutors on video. But Benito seemed disoriented during the same process and didn’t address any of the questions posed by the judge or prosecutors. He just kept repeating, “I didn’t do anything.”   read more

The arena most hostile to visiting teams is the home of Arizona State’s basketball team, where students have the Curtain of Distraction. As a visiting player is about to shoot a free throw, the curtain is pulled back to reveal a five-second playlet designed to throw off the shooter’s aim. Teams shoot almost nine percentage points worse at ASU than they do at home. This makes a difference of 1.7 points per game.   read more

Americans are having a tough time these days feeling really good about many of the country’s institutions. A mere 5% of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the legislative branch of government, according to General Social Survey. The Supreme Court reached a new all-time low with only 23% having a great deal of confidence. Things aren’t much better for the executive branch. Only 11% of adults expressed a great deal of confidence in it.   read more

The issue of oil shipments and the risk of explosion from derailments were raised again when a train carrying toxic Bakken oil went up in flames in neighboring West Virginia on Feb. 16. That fire continued for days. “If something catastrophic happens, there’s no municipality along the railroad that can handle it,” said Fire Chief Richard Lengel. Between 60 and 70 crude-laden trains pass through Pennsylvania each week on their way to refineries in Philadelphia and other cities.   read more

The Republican National Committee has condemned the guidelines, claiming they are “radically revisionist,” a sentiment echoed by lawmakers in four other states. Georgia’s senate adopted a resolution that mirrored the RNC’s complaint. The Republican push to end AP history began after The College Board overhauled the course. Board officials said they merely tried to address concerns that the previous AP history classes didn’t allow teachers to focus more on some areas of American history.   read more