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

Shell was president of Comcast Programming Group from 2005 to 2011, responsible for Comcast’s national and regional television networks. Since 2011, Jeff Shell has been president, but not CEO, of NBCUniversal, based in London, U.K., and responsible for overseeing International TV Distribution, Global Television Networks, and International Television Production.   read more

The system, called “VoiceGrid Nation,” can match a recording to a database entry in only five seconds (based on a scan of 10,000 voices), with an accuracy of 90%. Dozens of countries have invested in the company’s biometric technology, with the biggest markets in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Asia. These include dictatorships, such as those of Belarus and Uzbekistan.   read more

BART’s unprecedented disruption of service in August 2011 occurred when protesters began to gather for a rally days after a BART police officer fatally shot a knife-wielding homeless man at the San Francisco Civic Center station. BART was able to cut off service because of agreements it has with wireless carriers who operate a highly controlled network that can be turned off with practically a flip of a switch.   read more

Beekeepers first noticed a problem when they discovered their honey turning shades of blue and green. An investigation by the beekeepers revealed the bees were getting into M&M waste at Agrivalor. Presumably, the coloring came from the multicolored shells that encase M&Ms.   read more

Joining Ford Motor Company after graduating with her MBA, Boerio held a number of finance positions in the areas of product development, manufacturing, sales and corporate business planning, from 1976 to 1995. From August 1995 to September 2000, she served as the finance director for Jaguar Cars, Ltd. Retiring from Ford, Boerio transferred to the political realm, serving as chief of staff for Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) from February 2008 to January 2011.   read more

According to the latest figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate for September dropped to 7.8%, the lowest it has been since January 2009, the month of Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration. This represents a 1.2% decrease since the same month a year ago. Coincidentally, this is the largest month-to-month annual drop since November 1984—the month that President Ronald Reagan won reelection.   read more

Overall pesticide use went up by 404 million pounds from 1996, when the first GE herbicide-tolerant crops were rolled out, to 2011. Herbicide use increased by 527 million pounds while insecticide use decreased by 123 million pounds. Most of the increase has been caused by is the spread of weeds that are resistant to glyphosate, an herbicide created in 1970 and marketed by Monsanto as Roundup. It is the most commonly used agricultural herbicide in the United States.   read more

The Obama administration immediately fought back against the decision and convinced a three-member panel of judges from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to overrule Forrest’s ruling. Like Forrest, all three judges, Denny Chin, Raymond Lohier and Christopher Droney, were appointed by President Obama. The judges said ‘the statute does not affect the existing rights of United States citizens or other individuals arrested in the United States.”   read more

The law restricted individual contributions to the governor’s race to $630 and contributions to a state legislative candidate to $160, although the amounts were adjusted for inflation after each election cycle. The law also limited the total amount political parties could contribute to a campaign—for example $22,600 for a gubernatorial candidate. With less than a month before Election Day, deep-pocketed interests can now spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns   read more

In 2010, half of CCA’s revenue of $1.67 billion came from the states and 43% came from the federal government as a result of contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).   read more

The rise in the number of Americans lacking health insurance may be influencing many to put off seeking medical help. The percentage of those without health benefits in 2010 was 21.8%, up from 17% nine years earlier. Only 24% of those without health insurance went to a doctor in 2010 compared to 72% of those who were insured.   read more

The centers circulated information about Ron Paul supporters, the ACLU, activists on both sides of the abortion debate, war protesters, advocates of gun rights and Muslim community group and mosque activities—including book recommendations and parenting classes—that were clearly innocent. Although the federal government is barred from storing information about First Amendment activities unrelated to criminal activity, DHS kept these reports on its computers, despite knowing they were worthless.   read more

According to Richey, these “incorrect” votes changed the results of three of the nine presidential elections he studied. If all voters had chosen the candidate who most reflected their own beliefs, Gerald Ford would have defeated Jimmy Carter in 1976, Al Gore would have defeated George W. Bush in 2000 and John Kerry would have beaten Bush in 2004.   read more

In 2008, only 50% of eligible Latino voters went to the polls, compared with 66% of whites and 65% of blacks. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of Latinos registered to vote actually declined by 600,000.   read more

The plaintiffs claim the military and the Central Intelligence Agency tested as many as 400 types of drugs and chemicals, including mescaline, LSD, amphetamines, barbiturates, mustard gas and nerve agents, on soldiers. The veterans are not seeking monetary damages, but want the Department of Veterans of Affairs to provide medical coverage for those suffering from the effects of the testing.   read more

One parolee had died more than 19 years ago. Another, who died in October 2011, was described as “bedridden at home” in five separate reports after he had died. Amazing as it may seem, the auditors concluded that “there is risk that the PPO [probation and parole officer] was not actually verifying the offenders’ placement and simply entering the same information month after month.”   read more