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

Kim’s father, Kim Ki-wan was a member of the Korean CIA and was posted as a diplomat to Japan. He was implicated in the 1973 kidnapping of dissident (and future president) Kim Dae-jung. Kim himself had been kidnapped, by North Korea, and held for 20 days in 1958. Born in 1960, Kim was 13 years old when his father, following the kidnapping, moved his family to Los Angeles. In 2011, Kim became the first American of Korean descent to serve as ambassador to South Korea. He served there until 2014.   read more

One of the biggest worldwide public health triumphs in recent years has been maternal mortality. Global death rates fell by more than a third from 2000 to 2015. The United States, however, is one of the few countries in the world that has gone against the grain, new data show. Its maternal mortality rate has risen despite improvements in health care and an overwhelming global trend in the other direction.   read more

Singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne canceled his show at the University of Texas’ Bass Concert Hall over the school’s policy to allow patrons to carry concealed handguns at the venue. Senate Bill 11, also called campus carry, was passed in 2015 by the Texas Legislature. It allows concealed carry of handguns by license holders on state college and university campuses, and bars schools from prohibiting them except in certain areas. The law took effect Aug. 1.   read more

Federal wildlife officials made a formal recommendation to list the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species because it has disappeared from about 90% of its historic range in just the past two decades. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the recommendation after the Xerces Societypresented studies showing it was struggling due to a combination of disease, habitat loss, climate change and overuse of pesticides on commercial crops.   read more

A deputy public defender in Las Vegas gave in to a judge’s request on Thursday to remove a “Black Lives Matter” pin in court, after a free-form discussion about the politics of protest and free speech amid a national debate over police brutality and race relations. In a new show of defiance that wasn’t directly addressed by the judge, Deputy Public Defender Erika Ballou and several attorneys in the audience behind her wore black arm bands.   read more

In 2012 and 2013, earthquakes — five of them considered significant — shook East Texas near Timpson. A team of scientists for the first time were able to track the uplifting ground movements in the earthquake using radar from satellites. A study says it confirms that these were not natural, something scientists had previously said was likely using a more traditional analysis.   read more

Casper moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2012 as the consul general there. She returned to Washington in 2014 as the deputy assistant secretary for international media and the following year was named senior adviser in the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. In 2016, she was named acting director of partnerships in the Global Engagement Center. Casper is known in the State Dept for intensely studying the language and customs of every country in which she serves.   read more

The ocean's endless motion packs enough power to meet a quarter of America's energy needs and dramatically reduce the nation's reliance on oil, gas and coal. But wave energy technology lags well behind wind and solar power, with technical hurdles still to be overcome. To that end, the Navy has established a test site in Hawaii, with hopes the technology can someday be used to produce clean, renewable power for coastal communities in fuel-starved places around the world.   read more

At issue is how to help people find medical studies — and then to make the results public so that successes can reach patients more quickly. Federal law requires reporting the results of certain studies on a government website. But too often, that reporting doesn't happen, especially the failures. VP Joe Biden cited concern that such secrecy was stifling cancer progress. One analysis of 400 studies of diseases found 30% hadn't disclosed results within four years of completion.   read more

They were all from "special interest countries" — those that present a national security concern for the U.S. — or neighboring countries with high rates of immigration fraud. DHS said the findings reflect what has long been a problem for immigration officials — old paper-based records containing fingerprint information that can't be searched electronically. Fingerprints are missing from federal databases for as many as 315,000 immigrants with deportation orders or who are fugitive criminals.   read more

Coons said he was disturbed by reports that African elephant population has shrunk by 30% since 2007, primarily due to poaching. "Not only are iconic wildlife species in grave danger of disappearing, but wildlife trafficking also fuels well-organized criminal networks," he said. "Imperiled animals are slaughtered for no reason other than money, and innocent human lives are lost in the process. We cannot wait any longer to use every tool at our disposal to curb this global crisis."   read more

The measure allows people to carry hidden guns anywhere they can currently carry weapons openly. People who choose to get a concealed-carry permit could potentially carry their weapons into places off-limits to others. The legislation also would create a "stand-your-ground" right, meaning people don't have a duty to retreat from danger any place they are legally entitled to be present. The NRA says 30 states have laws or precedents stating people have no duty to retreat from a threat.   read more

AP VP Paul Colford said the news cooperative was "deeply disappointed with the inspector general's findings, which effectively condone the FBI's impersonation of an AP journalist in 2007. Such action compromises the ability of a free press to gather the news safely and effectively and raises serious constitutional concerns. Once again, AP calls on the government to refrain from any activities involving the impersonation of the news media..." FBI Director Comey defended the tactic in 2014.   read more

"The reason FEMA's rules are secret is that it would be embarrassing if it had to publish them," said attorney Wesevich. "If people knew what rules FEMA was applying they would be outraged... They want to present a facade that they are helping people recover from disaster. But internally and in secret they have a complex set of standards that deny people assistance." One judge reportedly described FEMA's eligibility criteria as "Kafkaesque."   read more

Indiana Solicitor General Fisher provoked outrage from the court in his attempts to justify Gov. Pence's policy. "Are Syrians the only Muslims Indiana fears?" asked Posner. Fisher replied: "This has nothing to do with religion." Posner chuckled and boomed: "All of the terrorist attacks you pointed to have been done by Muslims. So we're secure against anyone except Syrians? Look! Has the FBI said, 'we're secure against people from France or Germany'? Why's Indiana focused on Syrians?"   read more

Angry animal advocates can calm down: Tens of thousands of wild horses and donkeys will be spared the threat of an untimely death. The Humane Society of the United States had described the recommendation as “unhinged advice,” “a complete abdication of responsibility” and “a sort of ‘Final Solution.'” An online petition has collected more than 118,000 signatures. But a spokesman for the bureau made clear in an interview that it had no plans to act on the advice.   read more