Texas’ latest attempt to restrict minority groups from exercising their right to vote was a law that required certain forms of ID to cast a ballot. That law has now been struck down by a judge who provided a lesson in Texas’ long history of discrimination. Judge Gonzales Ramos ruled that Texas’ voter ID law had the same chilling effect on voting as a poll tax. Literacy tests and gerrymandering have also been employed to depress turnout of black and Hispanic voters, she wrote.   read more

Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the government to coordinate the release of videos showing the force-feeding of a Guantánamo inmate. “I want Americans to see what is going on at the prison today, so they will understand why we are hunger-striking,” inmate Syrian Abu Wa’el Dhiab wrote in a petition. Kessler rejected the government’s claim that the video would harm national security. "Most of [their justifications] are unacceptably vague, speculative, ...just plain implausible,” she wrote.   read more

Some companies have inserted a clause into those service contracts you agree to that can cost you money if you give them a negative review. One online retailer, KlearGear, slapped a couple with a $3,500 suit after they’d complained online about poor customer service. The Union Street Guest House will fine event organizers at the inn if any of their guests post negative reviews online. But in California, Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill prohibiting such clauses in the state.   read more

After the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the State Department established a directorate to focus on the security of U.S. missions abroad. Now, a report has found that the High Threat Programs division doesn’t have the tools it needs to protect diplomats. Several units of the directorate were found to be understaffed. In addition, the directorate doesn’t have the authority to force other bureaus to do what it says.   read more

Since Obama was sworn in, federal immigration authorities have removed more than 2 million undocumented immigrants. In fact, in just five years his administration managed to process as many deportations as officials under President George W. Bush did in eight. Most of the more recent deportations are happening before the immigrant even has a chance to go before a judge. In the 2013 fiscal year, 83% of those deported were kicked out without a court hearing.   read more

Millions of AT&T wireless customers should soon see refunds on their bills after the FTC found that the phone provider was illegally billing customers for unwanted horoscopes, ringtones and other third-party services. AT&T will pay $105 million for the practice of “cramming,” in which charges for third-party services are billed to unaware customers. The settlement is the largest ever reached by the government with a wireless carrier engaged in cramming.   read more

A federal court on Tuesday threw out Virginia’s congressional boundaries, saying gerrymandering by Republicans had diluted the voting power of African-Americans. Plaintiffs argued state GOP lawmakers in 2011 had intentionally lumped as many black voters as they could into the district to limit their influence in other congressional races. Judges ruled the boundaries unconstitutional and ordered the legislature to redraw all of the state’s seats.   read more

The U.S. government has succeeded in providing more federal job opportunities for veterans in the wake of two major wars. But the emphasis on employing more ex-soldiers, most of whom are men, has wound up reducing the total of women being hired. At the beginning of the 21st century, 43% of all new hires were women, but that dropped to 37% by 2012. Not only do veterans get extra “points” toward being hired, but each agency has hiring goals for veterans.   read more

More than 50 years after the killing, the Secret Service has still not released all of its records regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. First, it withheld records from the Warren Commission. Then it sat on documents that could have aided subsequent probes into the killing. Those investigations included the Rockefeller Commission, the Senate Church Committee, the House Select Committee on Assassinations and the Assassination Records Review Board.   read more

In the world of drug-resistant super bugs, this one is a particularly lethal. Clostridium difficile colitis is one of many new threats to human health that have evolved as a result of overuse of antibiotics. So far, CDC researchers estimate it has killed about 14,000 patients. Another quarter million people have become ill as a result of it. It is caused by the use of antibiotics that kill microbes in a patient’s gut, usually in a hospital setting.   read more

As for going after bank leaders, any criminal charges will probably focus on "traders and their bosses rather than chief executives.” If this proves to be true, it will be another case in which outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder has failed to punish the barons of Wall Street for their schemes. After all, not a single banking CEO or vice president has been criminally prosecuted for helping cause the 2008 financial crisis.   read more

Some members of the track and field community point to Justin Gatlin, who won gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics, as an example of how an athlete, who was suspended for steroid use from 2006 to 2010, can still be enjoying the benefits of steroids. Gatlin, 32, has been burning up the track with times not usually seen by sprinters his age. He ran six of the seven fastest 100-meter times in the world last summer, prompting criticism from competitors like British runner Dai Greene.   read more

For many addicts, the journey from pharmaceutical fixes to street remedies like heroin is all too common. “While the majority of prescription opioid users do not become heroin users,” the CDC reported, “previous research found that [about] 3 out of 4 new heroin users report having abused prescription opioids prior to using heroin.” Two factors are responsibility: an increase in heroin supplies “and widespread availability of prescription opioids and increasing opioid addiction rates.”   read more

It is taking much longer these days for the Nobel committee to decide whom to honor for achievements in science. At one time, the lag time between breakthroughs and Nobel prizes was shorter. Before World War II, those having to wait more than 20 years for their recognition occurred only 11% of the time in physics, 15% in chemistry and 24% in medicine. But since 1985, such delays have happened much more often. Some scientists have died by the time their research was deemed worthy of honor.   read more

A new report from the GAO shows Floridians, in 2012, had the longest average wait time in the nation at polling places: 34 minutes. About 16% of voters had to wait more than an hour. Alaska residents, however, rarely had to worry about cooling their heels while waiting to vote. Their average time before entering the voting booth was only 1.4 minutes. Their state’s delays come on the other end of the process—getting the votes counted.   read more

A woman died while being moved by a private prisoner transport service from Kentucky to Florida. There have been other incidents of transport officers sexually assaulting and raping their prisoners, and threatening them with a gun to keep them quiet. The lack of safety standards for prisoner transport has led to prisoners being burned alive in worn-out vehicles that have caught fire. There have also been incidents in which untrained guards have been held hostage by prisoners.   read more