The U.S. military has been ordered by a federal judge to stop force-feeding a hunger striker at Guantanamo Bay and to preserve videos showing the controversial procedure. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler’s ruling came in the case of Mohammed Abu Wa’el Dhiab of Syria, who has been detained without trial for 12 years. Kessler raised concerns in a previous ruling, noting that it was “perfectly clear” that “force-feeding is a painful, humiliating and degrading process.”   read more

Under fire about medical delays at veterans hospitals, the Obama administration offered up a political sacrifice … of an official who was already planning to step down. The announcement implied Petzel was to blame for the VA problems, and that his leaving meant they were serious about fixing the mess. But Petzel’s departure was announced last year. “We don’t need the VA to find a scapegoat,” said Tom Tarantino. “We need an actual plan to restore a culture of accountability [at] the VA.”   read more

Income tax evaders stand a good chance of getting light prison sentences. Last year, 45% of convicted tax cheats received sentences that were less than what is recommended. This practice came under scrutiny earlier this year when billionaire H. Ty Warner received probation for stashing more than $100 million in overseas bank accounts to avoid paying the IRS. Sentencing guidelines say he should have gone to jail for 46 to 57 months. Instead, he won’t serve a day behind bars   read more

The Justice Department wants to be able to conduct electronic searches of computers anywhere in the U.S. Civil libertarians fear this would put more personal information from innocent people in the government’s hands. “[It] significantly expand(s) the [conducting of] secret, remote searches of the sensitive contents of people's computers,” said ACLU's Nathan Wessler. “It is crucial that the courts place strict limits on [searches].”   read more

Imagine you were terminally ill and had exhausted all conventional treatments for your sickness. Then you hear about a promising drug that had the potential to cure you, but it hadn’t been approved for use. You might be willing to give that drug a try, figuring you had nothing to lose. That’s the reasoning behind three states’ recent approval of “right to try” laws, where physicians may recommend potentially life-saving drugs to their patients before FDA approval.   read more

Thousands of oil and gas wells on federal land have gone without inspection at a time when drilling has expanded in many parts of the country because of fracking. The failings of the Bureau of Land Management has put the environment in peril, according to a GAO report. The agency was accused of relying on “outdated rules and guidancem” having “limited coordination with state regulatory agencies, and incomplete data on the location of resources and industry activities   read more

When Barack Obama was first inaugurated, he promised that his administration would “usher in an era of open government.” Instead, requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act are increasingly being challenged or ignored by federal agencies. The Border Patrol has been denying requests for information, and both the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have released heavily redacted documents that had earlier been released with the censored parts intact.   read more

The enrollment issues with Obamacare are fixed, but the computer experts aren’t off the hook yet. More than a million Americans may be getting incorrect subsidies for their health plans, and problems also exist with citizenship verification. But since the government has no computer capability to address these problems, it will have to resolve every case by hand. Those whose subsidies are incorrect and who've been overpaid will have to refund the money to the government.   read more

A New Hampshire man is about to find out how good the sense of humor of his state’s police is. In 2010, David Montenegro applied for a vanity license plate reading COPSLIE. He was denied by the state DMV, who found it "insulting." He then appealed and lost. Montenegro applied again for the plate, but this time the state Supreme Court gave him the right to the plate. But the road ahead, on the streets of New Hampshire, may a tough one.   read more

Call them the greater of two evils. According to a new Gallup poll, Americans view the Republican Party with less favor than they do the Democratic Party. However, both parties are viewed more unfavorably than favorably. Some observers say this is the beginning of the end for national aspirations for the Republican Party. Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik said the moves the GOP is making to take the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections will doom them in 2016.   read more

Between the California drought and earthquake concerns, fracking opponents have convinced about a dozen local governments in the state to curtail or prohibit fracking altogether. These include Butte County, home of California’s second largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, which has lost a third of its water during the drought. A bill introduced in the state Senate would establish a temporary moratorium on fracking while experts study its effects.   read more

An overwhelming majority of journalists in the U.S. say it’s vital to investigate government misdeeds. But a much smaller percentage are willing to take risks to carry out such investigations,. Why have journalists become more risk adverse? "The post-9/11 surveillance state," suggests Eric Levenson, as well as the Obama administration’s “unprecedented targeting of whistleblowers [which] likely has played a role in turning opinions against the use of secret documents."   read more

The researchers tested 96 substances and found about 30% of them disrupted the way sperm functioned and their ability to fertilize eggs. The problem is high calcium levels in the sperm, which causes poor swimming and early release of enzymes needed to break into an egg. “This is really the first report on the direct effects of endocrine disruptors on sperm function,” said Niels Skakkebaek. “The effects we see could explain these not-uncommon cases where people cannot have a child....”   read more

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has issued another edict that prohibits intelligence employees from referencing news reports that contain unauthorized leaks. The rule follows an order that prohibits speaking to the media, which is defined so broadly that it might include anyone who has shared a story about an intelligence agency on Facebook. “You’re basically saying people can’t talk about what everyone in the country is talking about,” said former staffer Timothy Edgar.   read more

American voters aren’t too excited about the upcoming election, and don’t seem to think the occupant of the White House has much effect on what happens to the country. A new survey shows voter enthusiasm for the November election is lower than it’s been for a midterm election in 20 years. As for the 2016 presidential race, most Americans don’t seem to be putting much stock into who wins, and most young people think volunteering will do more good than choosing the next president.   read more

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Association of Manufacturers, which argued the EPA had overstepped its regulatory bounds in reducing permissible soot levels. Federal officials said it was important to reduce soot in the air due to its harmful effects on human health, particularly the heart and the lungs. Following the ruling, the EPA issued a statement saying it was “a resounding victory for public health.”   read more