The lieutenant signed a written decree crafted by child welfare officials in which he admitted to causing “moderate harm” towards his daughter. This conclusion led to the officer’s name being added to Virginia’s State Child Abuse and Neglect Registry (pdf). He was barred from seeing his children until they turned 18. The matter was reviewed by the Navy. But commanders determined no punishment was warranted, and the officer eventually received a promotion.   read more

Megan McLemore, HRW’s senior health researcher and the report’s author, said in a prepared statement, “People who use drugs can’t get clean needles, and police are confiscating condoms from sex workers and those suspected of sex work, such as transgender women.”   read more

Among married women ages 40 to 44, about 6% had no children of any kind (biological, adopted or step kids) from 2006 to 2010, according to the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, which examined figures from the National Survey of Family Growth. Six percent may not sound like a big number, but experts told the Los Angeles Times that the figure was still significant, statistically speaking, given that the rate was only 4.5% in 1988.   read more

ALEC boasts having members in statehouses throughout the United States. But in two states—Iowa and South Dakota—it has managed to sign up every single lawmaker, according to documents from an ALEC board meeting on August 6. The South Dakota legislature’s executive board, in April, voted for the state’s treasury to pay the $100, two-year ALEC membership dues for all 105 lawmakers, as well as the cost of unlimited out-of-state travel to ALEC meetings for those who are ALEC committee members.   read more

When, in February 2007, Stephanie Lenz posted a 29-second video of her toddler on YouTube, she included an audio clip from the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy.” Common use of a recorded, copyrighted song is nothing new on the Internet, as countless individuals have done the same thing with their video content. But Universal Music Group, which owns the rights to the hit tune from 1984, objected to Lenz’s action, and demanded she take down the video.   read more

A 2008 NSA document (“Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual Environments”) described gaming communities as a “target-rich communications network” where threats could “hide in plain sight.” These realms seemed so attractive, in fact, that the NSA, GCHQ, the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation dove into them, which forced the government to create a “deconfliction” group to make sure agents weren’t spying on each other.   read more

Although Camez is considered a small-time crook, the jury’s verdict under RICO made him legally culpable for all the crimes committed by the nearly 8,000 users of Carder.su. The government concluded that those crimes amount to $50.5 million in losses, which resulted in the lengthy sentence. Camez was trapped by the government in 2009 as part of a four-year undercover Secret Service operation that involved the infiltration of Carder.su.   read more

What it lacks in size it makes up for in terms of criminal authority authorized by Congress. Unlike regulators, SIGTARP can issue search warrants, seize property and even make arrests. But those targeted by SIGTARP have run community banks, not the national institutions that dominate Wall Street.   read more

Some states, like Nevada and New Mexico, decided to withdraw their recognition of Utah’s permit because it does not require live-fire training. “Residents of other states should be aware that people who have a Utah concealed-weapon permit may not have actually fired a weapon,” GVPCU chairwoman Dee Rowland told the Times. “I think that would be quite shocking to members of the public.”   read more

“This isn’t the NSA asking for information,” Senator Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) told The Washington Post. “It’s your neighborhood police department requesting your mobile phone data.” Markey found that information provided to police includes other records as well, like GPS location data, website addresses and search terms entered into cellphone browsers.   read more

After Bruce Simmons died on August 16, 2012, his wife, Gigi Simmons, had to borrow money to cover funeral costs because his life insurance benefits had not yet arrived, according to the lawsuit. When a funeral director contacted Bristol-Myers Squibb on her behalf, he was told “that there was a $6,000,000 policy on Mr. Simmons’ life.”   read more

Among the 18 chemicals were 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant. None are currently regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which means utilities don’t have to limit their levels or even monitor for them. PFOS may cause attention disorders in children and thyroid disease in men. It was used in Scotchgard until 3M phased it out more than a decade ago.   read more

The United States’ largest oil companies, as well as dozens of other major corporations, have seemingly decided climate change is for real, and it’s time to prepare for it. But this position does not sit well with many in the Republican Party who refuse to acknowledge climate change and insist on fighting any federal policies addressing it.   read more

Renewable energy has been touted as the future direction for fulfilling U.S. power needs. But those operating the grids that carry and deliver electricity to homes and businesses have serious concerns over how to incorporate solar, wind and other “green” energy sources in the coming years. Experts at Caltech said that incorporating green energy will be “one of the greatest technological challenges industrialized societies have undertaken.”   read more

Some of the largest school districts in the United States are moving away from two decades of “zero tolerance” policies that resulted in thousands of students being arrested and dropping out. Instead, education officials are trying to help at-risk kids avoid trouble and stay in school. The shift away from “get tough” policies has taken place in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver and most recently Broward County, Florida, home to Fort Lauderdale.   read more

The latest attempt by the federal government to improve drug safety involving pharmacies and manufacturers will take a decade to fully implement. Also, some of the key provisions are strictly voluntary on the part of industry. Crafted by the FDA and and signed into law by President Barack Obama last week, the new rules were prompted by the tragedy involving a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy that killed 64 people who developed fungal meningitis from tainted medication.   read more