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 number is an extreme data point in an accumulating body of evidence that young adolescents are suffering from a range of health problems associated with the country’s rapidly changing culture. The pervasiveness of social networking means that entire schools can witness someone’s shame, instead of a gaggle of girls on a school bus. And with continual access to such networks, those pressures do not end when a child comes home in the afternoon.   read more

For years, scientists have noted that, in many fields, the most electrifying work comes earlier in life rather than later. Now, a big-data analysis finds a host of factors that have nothing to do with age or early stardom. It is, they suggest, a combination of personality, persistence and pure luck, as well as intelligence, that leads to high-impact success — at any age. It was entirely because of productivity: scientists were as likely to score a hit at age 50 as at age 25.   read more

In 2001, Vives Balmaña was named head of protocol and administrative affairs for the Conseil General, the country’s legislature, a position she held until 2015. In 2012, she also took on the presidency of the Andorran National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Vives Balmaña was named Andorra’s representative to the United Nations in 2015 and added the U.S., Canada and Mexico to her portfolio the following year.   read more

Big-money corporate lobbying has reached into one of the most obscure corners of state government: the offices of secretaries of state, the people charged with running elections impartially. Targeting them with campaign donations, weekend outings and secret meetings with industry lobbyists reflects an intense focus on often overlooked ballot questions, which the secretaries frequently help write. A difference of even a few words on a ballot measure can have an enormous impact on the outcome.   read more

DNA data is run through algorithms to calculate the likelihood that a person’s DNA is present in a mixture. Developers say they remove human bias from the equation, delivering accurate results. But critics worry that they undermine an important aspect of due process. The accused, defense attorneys, and judges don’t have access to the tools’ proprietary inner workings and, thus, the ability to question their conclusions. As one attorney wrote, “The Petitioner cannot cross-examine a computer.”   read more

La Guardia Airport, famously described by Vice President Joe Biden in 2014 as akin to what one would find “in a Third World country,” ranked as the worst. Right behind it were JFK International and Newark Liberty. La Guardia had the highest rate of flight delays and cancellations, the second-longest drive time to the center of the city and steep parking rates. JFK had the longest drive time and longest security waits. Newark had “lackluster ratings across the board.”   read more

Voters reported waiting for more than two hours. The long wait time was largely due to limited staff and equipment to handle the unexpectedly large crowd. Voters have to fill out a slip before getting their ballot printed out. There was only one computer, one printer and a couple of workers assigned to the site. Three other sites — in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa — were similarly busy. Voters endured waits of more than five hours in the March primary.   read more

Varricchio’s first ambassadorial post came in 2009, when he was sent to Belgrade, Serbia. While there, he advocated for Serbian membership in the European Union. By 2016, that country was a candidate member. He returned to Italy in 2012 as deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The following year, he was made diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Enrico Letta.   read more

The top 1% of earners managed to increase their share of the nation's income at about the same pace after their taxes were raised as they had before, according to a study that taps into a key debate in the current presidential race. That outcome suggests that wealthier Americans did not respond to the higher taxes by either working less or saving less, as many economists often say will happen. "The 2013 tax hike had no discernable negative effect on economic growth," Saez said.   read more

Environmentalists are outraged with the proposal to increase from 15 to 34 the number of states that could use Enlist Duo, saying the EPA sought court authority last year to withdraw approval of the weed killer. The EPA had cited information from manufacturer Dow AgroSciences that indicated Enlist was probably more toxic to other plants than previously thought. George Kimbrell, senior attorney with the Center for Food Safety, accused the EPA of "capitulation to the agrichemical industry."   read more

Ohio death-row inmates sued, claiming the law unconstitutionally burdens free speech, but a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit. Siler said the Supreme Court has never recognized a public right of access to government information as broad as that claimed by the inmates. "While the public's right of access under the First Amendment covers certain records...it does not follow that this right covers all information related to the proceeding," the opinion states.   read more

There may be a silver lining in the revelation that Donald Trump paid no federal income tax for years or even decades: “Trump’s scheming on his taxes has put a spotlight on a tale of two systems,” Wyden said. “The first is compulsory. You work a shift...the taxes come out of your paycheck... For the most fortunate, you hire a battery of experts, and you pay what you want when you want to, or even nothing at all. I think we can all agree the tax code is a dysfunctional mess.”   read more

For courts, social media may open up new doors to reach defendants and other participants in the legal process, as well as communicate with the public. But it poses risks, too. Deploying social summons has its own challenges. Just because an individual has an account may not mean it's active. It is also too easy for people to pose as someone they are not, said Prof. Andrews, who believes courts ``are putting much too much stock in social media.''   read more

It's a scary world out there, risk experts agree, but they say Trump and Clinton often focus on the wrong dangers. "I have not heard or read about any significant deliberations of the major risks that face our country today and tomorrow. Sad for the U.S.," said Prof. Bea. Loewenstein said climate change, "a problem that threatens the very existence of the human race," was barely mentioned in the presidential debates, usually in the context of Trump's questioning that it is even happening.   read more

For years, technologists have argued that online news would be a boon to democracy. That has not been the case. The internet is distorting our collective grasp on the truth. Polls show that many of us have burrowed into our own echo chambers of information. Now, in the death throes of an election that features a candidate who once led the campaign to lie about Obama’s birth, there is more reason to despair about truth in the online age.   read more

Dark money spending, from groups that conceal their donors, favors GOP candidates six to one. Just three groups, One Nation, with ties to Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, account for 67% of all dark money spending. "While this problem was created in part by 2010’s Citizens United decision, the 2016 data shows we have truly crossed a new Rubicon," wrote Vandewalker.   read more