Rumors are spreading that the U.S. Supreme Court will vote 5-4 to rule that a U.S. president cannot be prosecuted for anything he does while he is president. Some Democrats are suggesting that Joe Biden bring a gun to his first debate with Donald Trump. If he shoots Trump, he would be immune, but if Trump shoots Biden he would be prosecuted because he is not a sitting president.   read more

The ruling marks a partial legal win for a coalition of news organizations that filed a lawsuit over secrecy surrounding lethal injections. Snow's order requires the state to allow execution witnesses to view the entirety of an execution. Under current protocol, executioners are not seen administering the drug. Execution witnesses in the death of Wood were not aware until several days later that he was injected 15 times with the two-drug combination that was supposed to kill him with one dose.   read more

A federal board responsible for protecting Americans against abuses by spy agencies is in disarray just weeks before Trump takes office. The board was revitalized after Edward Snowden's disclosures on the scope of U.S. spying in 2013. It concluded that the NSA's phone surveillance program was illegal. It has been crucial in ensuring a window into the secretive world of intelligence agencies. Sen. Ron Wyden said the panel's role as a government watchdog is "absolutely critical now."   read more

The move puts finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves. The actions were announced in conjunction with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. The White House said it's confident the president's order will withstand legal challenge and said the language of the statute provides no authority for subsequent presidents to undo permanent withdrawals.   read more

The judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims "so as to have their day in court," Judge Hill wrote. "The Court takes this action due to the emergent need for coordinated science based action by the State of Washington to address climate change before efforts to do so are too costly and too late." The petitioners can now go to court and argue that the state has violated their rights under the state constitution.   read more

A small town in New Jersey has sued DuPont for $1.1 billion, claiming it dumped more than 100 million lbs. of toxic waste into soil and water near the Delaware River, “a disaster worse than Exxon Valdez” that will take 1,000 years to clean up. The site has been linked to cancer clusters in the area. Thousands of New Jersey residents have sued DuPont for contaminating their drinking water. One such case was settled in 1993 for almost $40 million. In another case, DuPont paid $800 per household.   read more

"I think we are watching a major political climate change concerning capital punishment and it's reflected among reduced death sentences across the country," said DPIC's Dunham. "As fewer states use the death penalty and as it's used more sparingly in the states that do, we can expect long-term numbers to remain low and perhaps continue to drop." On the Supreme Court, only Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer have questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty.   read more

Salem Al Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the U.S., switched the event from the Four Seasons. The move to Trump's $200-million renovation of the Old Post Office Pavilion could reinforce questions raised about the incoming president's possible conflicts of interest. House Democrats already have warned that they'll make the splashy hotel a headache for Trump if he doesn't dump his ownership stake before taking office Jan. 20. Trump has a six-decade lease on the property.   read more

People living in areas with periods of freezing weather are more likely to doubt climate change, as local weather seems to shape a person’s views. Researchers surveyed 12,000 people in the U.S. to determine whether regional weather caused them to either reject or accept climate change. “If you’re living in a place where there’s been more record cold weather than record heat lately, you may doubt reports of climate change,” said study co-author Peter Howe.   read more

In 2014, almost 4% of pregnant women said they'd recently used marijuana, up from 2.4% in 2002. Laws legalizing medical marijuana don't prohibit use by pregnant women and don't include warnings about possible harms to the fetus. But besides low birth weights, newborns may face increased risks for anemia and other problems requiring intensive care. Memory and attention problems also have been found in older children whose moms used marijuana in pregnancy.   read more

The surveillance devices have been broadly adopted by police and federal agencies. But it has raised Fourth Amendment concerns among privacy advocates for its ability to collect data on the targets as well as innocent bystanders. "...Absent proper oversight and safeguards, the domestic use of cell-site simulators may well infringe upon the constitutional rights of citizens to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as the right to free association," the report states.   read more

The DEA records — which leading drug wholesalers had fought in court to keep secret — show the wholesalers shipped ever-higher doses of the pills — a telltale sign of growing addictions — even as the death toll climbed. "These numbers will shake even the most cynical observer," said former Delegate/pharmacist Don Perdue. "Distributors have fed their greed on human frailties and to criminal effect. There is no excuse and should be no forgiveness."   read more

The case could offer some credence to Edward Snowden's claim that he could not have reported the government's domestic surveillance program without facing reprisals. Ellard received attention in 2014 for criticizing Snowden, the former NSA contractor who had leaked secret documents about the surveillance program. Snowden says he went public because he feared retaliation from his superiors if he had raised his concerns with them. Ellard had said that Snowden could have safely come to him.   read more

Opponents said the rule supports the environmental movement's efforts to reduce use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. NMA's Quinn argued that it will put tens of thousands of Americans out of work. But an Interior official projected that fewer than 300 jobs would be lost after the regulation takes effect. Sierra Club called the rule "a long overdue step toward guaranteeing every community in America is protected from the toxic water pollution caused by surface coal mining."   read more

Patients who got most of their care from women doctors were more likely to leave the hospital alive than those treated by men. The differences were small. But the all-male research team estimated that there would be about 32,000 fewer deaths each year in the U.S. if male physicians performed at the same level as their female peers. Women doctors were found more likely than men to follow treatment guidelines, provide preventive care more often and communicate more with patients.   read more

The Commerce Dept is slated to make no fewer than five decisions about steel trade soon after the inauguration which will directly affect businesses that Ross has a stake in. “His business contacts are deep and wide. Life could be very complicated for Wilbur Ross if he chooses to hang onto those interests,” said Schulzke. “It’s never happened that a Commerce secretary has been so directly involved in the fallout, and rewards, from previous trade deals,” said a former Treasury Dept official.   read more

State lawmakers introduced more than 200 anti-LGBT bills this year and dozens more have been drafted. “Religious freedom is a fundamental right,” said ACLU's Esseks. “Everybody has the right to believe whatever they want about God and religion, but none of that gives anybody the right to discriminate against other people.” Republicans in Congress, who will hold a majority in both chambers under Trump, may try to pass a law meant to allow anyone to act with impunity based on religious belief.   read more