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 114th Congress is only a couple of weeks old, and already powerful financial and corporate interests are having their way, particularly in the House. Legislation backed by Wall Street interests has targeted the Dodd-Frank reform law, which imposed a series of restrictions on banks and investment firms. Wall Street lobbying has been fierce. Combined with campaign contributions from various financial interests, 2014 saw a $1.2 billion war chest built for undermining Wall Street reform.   read more

The controversy prompted the CIA’s top man, John Brennan, to organize a panel to determine whether his agency had acted improperly. He stacked the five-member panel with three senior CIA officers, plus Robert F. Bauer, who has gone out of his way to protect the CIA from any wrongdoing with the torture program. The CIA panel’s report reached the opposite conclusion of the CIA’s inspector general, who previously said the five officers were wrong to search the files used by the Senate committee.   read more

The funding reductions have forced the loss of 12,000 positions at the tax agency. Fewer workers will mean longer times on hold for Americans calling the IRS for help. One estimate said the IRS may be able to answer only 43% of the 100 million calls it's expecting this year. Those who do get through to an IRS official will first have to wait an average of 30 minutes on the phone. The budget cut will also mean that taxpayers will have to wait an extra week or more to receive refunds.   read more

The inspector general says its office can’t really be sure just how many millions of taxpayer dollars were spent unnecessarily by FEMA because the agency’s insurance reviewers failed to properly document their decisions. The $177 million figure could actually be much higher because it was based on just a sampling of claims. The report suggests that FEMA make an effort to recoup those funds from the insurer. The seven hurricanes collectively resulted in $4.4 billion in insurance payments.   read more

The newspaper’s lawyer warned that the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent that could negatively impact news reporting. “If you are investigated for stealing public money, your expectation of privacy does not exceed my right to know you stole public money,” she said. Judge Moses said he “struggles with a government entity suing a private entity... I am terribly concerned that the Gazette gets sued and nothing is disclosed to them at all... It is chilling,"   read more

The Visa Waiver Program allows millions to travel between the U.S. and 38 countries without a visa, making it easy for tourists to come here and spend money. But the recent terror attacks in France have some Washington lawmakers rethinking the program, fearing it leaves the U.S. vulnerable to acts of terrorism. “The visa waiver program is the Achilles’ heel of America,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein. The program allows nearly 20 million foreign citizens into the U.S. each year.   read more

Federal prosecutors claim Sterling divulged classified information to get back at the CIA for not settling a discrimination lawsuit he launched against the agency. Sterling insists his actions were those of a whistleblower concerned about CIA management, which was why he raised concerns with the Senate committee. Sterling is the “latest in a string of former officials and contractors the Obama administration has charged with discussing national security matters with reporters,” wrote the Times.   read more

One thing the U.S. could do is mandate a higher rate for American corporations, which Norway did when it imposed the world’s first gender quota seven years ago. Businesses there must meet a 40% standard. Some other European countries have adopted their own floor for female representation in boardrooms. U.S. companies might even find it to their advantage to have more women on their boards. Studies have shown that companies with more women on their boards do better than those with less.   read more

The attacks included a 2002 attack on Hebrew University’s Frank Sinatra cafeteria; a machine-gunning that year on Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road; and a 2004 suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem. Lawyers for the PLO have condemned the attacks, which killed dozens and wounded hundreds of others. But they insist the defendants weren’t responsible for the terrorism, and inferred that Hamas and Fatah should be the ones being sued. “The men and women who did this aren’t here,” Mark Rochon told the jury.   read more

If a new study is an indication, global warming will make human lives less productive. Tatyana Deryugina and Solomon M. Hsiang of the National Bureau of Economic Research used data collected from counties throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and compared increases in temperature with the output of human production. They determined that as things heat up, people slow down.   read more

Reports revealed a death toll ranging between 55 and 61 civilian prisoners inside the building that was demolished by American missiles. Between 13 and 25 ISIS guards also died in the attack. If those numbers are accurate, it would represent the worst case of civilian deaths caused by the U.S. bombing of Syria. Many of the prisoners were jailed for minor infractions of Islamic Law, “such as smoking, wearing jeans or appearing too late for the afternoon prayer."   read more

“Once again, the majority of members of Congress are millionaires," reported CRP. “At a time when income inequality is much debated, the representatives we choose are overwhelmingly affluent,” CRP executive director Sheila Krumholz said. “Whether voters elect them because they are successful or because people of modest means do not run, or for other reasons, is unclear, but struggling Americans should not assume that their elected officials understand their circumstances.”   read more

“Laws designed to silence anyone, even people society may find disagreeable, are unconstitutional and bad for democracy,” said ACLU's Shuford. The ACLU was joined in the suit by journalists, news outlets and advocacy organizations, as well as four former convicts who fear the law will stifle their ability to speak publicly. The law came into being following a speech by a convicted cop killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal.   read more

At least one city has already put butt recycling into practice. Salem, Massachusetts, has placed receptacles around the city and sends the butts to be recycled into items such as plastic shipping pallets and even ash trays. The recovered tobacco is composted. Cigarette butts are considered a prime contributor to litter and local pollution, generating up to 1.7 billon pounds of environmental waste annually, according to one study. KAB says smoked cigarettes account for 38% of all litter.   read more

Flashbangs can inflict serious wounds if they explode next to a human body. Their flash powder is hot enough to cause second-degree burns on flesh, and the concussion from their blast has been shown to sever hands and fingers, cause heart attacks, burn down homes and kill pets. Some police forces report using flashbangs up to 80% of the time during their raids, where their targets are often found to be innocent or guilty of only minor offenses.   read more

Defense lawyers contend it was necessary for officials to ask Israel to review the report before complying with Smith’s request—an unusual move on the part of a U.S. agency involving a FOIA issue.The report may contain details about an internal debate nearly 30 years ago among U.S. officials whether Washington should authorize the sale of a Cray supercomputer to a coalition of Israeli universities -- a sale "that could boost Israel's well-known but officially secret A-bomb and missile programs."   read more