Big banks are increasingly using the fine print of checking account agreements to restrict their customers’ ability to settle disputes in court, even though most consumers want to keep their legal options open. Over the last four years, the share of 29 big banks that use so-called mandatory binding arbitration clauses has risen to 72% from 59%. And of a larger pool of 44 large banks analyzed this year, almost three-fourths used the clauses, Pew found.   read more

Farmers — or anyone who uses water in a business — can ask the IRS for a tax write-off for what’s called a “depleted asset.” In certain places, water counts as an asset, just like oil, or minerals like copper. The more water gets used, the more cash credit farmers can claim against their income tax. And that’s just what almost 3,000 Texas landowners in just one water district appear to have done last year — a year in which nearly half of Texas was in a state of “severe” or “extreme” drought.   read more

The number of such jobs for newly credentialed lawyers probably shrank, Leipold said, because graduates are competing “with other junior lawyers for most jobs.” And there is little change in sight, he said, because law firms of every size will face a smaller head count “in the coming years and even decades” as law firms incorporate “growing efficiencies created by technology and business systems and increased competition from nontraditional legal services providers.”   read more

The disaster has heightened economic and spiritual pain in a region hamstrung by poverty and drought. The tribe is seeking compensation for lost revenue and psychological damages. “We cannot just sit back and let the EPA do what they’ve been doing, just doling us pennies,” said Navajo's Russell Begaye. “This river is the main river that gives life to the whole region, not just those who live around the river, but the entire nation. This is our lifeblood. It is sacred to us.”   read more

Mack caught the attention of the Freedom from Religion Foundation after a litigant complained that he was sanctioning prayer in his courtroom. "FFRF contacted the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct to complain about Judge Mack's practice of opening court sessions with prayer," wrote FFRF's attorney. "Shortly thereafter, a second complainant...contacted FFRF to object to the courtroom prayer practice. Both complainants consider the courtroom prayers to be an endorsement of Christianity."   read more

"Though water quality standards require the [waterways] to be safely usable for swimming, kayaking, rowing, and wading, it is highly dangerous to do so when there is a spike in fecal bacteria levels," said the complaint. The groups say even brief exposures to feces-tainted water — as might happen if splashed in the face — can cause a wide range of illnesses like gastroenteritis, earaches, pink eye and skin infections.   read more

A puzzling concentration of the greenhouse gas methane over the Southwestern United States appears to come mostly from leaks in natural gas production, scientists said Monday. They include gas wells, storage tanks, pipelines and processing plants. The hot spot is not a local safety or health issue, but methane does contribute to global warming. Evidence of the hot spot dates as far back as 2003, and a satellite image released in 2014 showed it in vivid color.   read more

Controversy surrounding secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood employees discussing fetal tissue sales has morphed into a California proposal that would punish media companies for reporting on certain undercover videos. But media groups say the bill, which is on the verge of clearing the Legislature, could have a "chilling effect" on free speech. A combination of media, civil rights groups and state Republicans are leading the fight against the proposal.   read more

Peterson chastised lawmakers for targeting the state's large black community in Milwaukee with no valid purpose. The state demanded that Peterson stay his injunction to avert an unnecessary overhaul of state election procedures, but Peterson mostly denied the request Thursday. Saying Wisconsin is exaggerating the breadth of his order, Peterson noted that the "injunction requires modest, but meaningful, adjustments to a few election procedures and requirements."   read more

Federal and state reports warn that annual estimates almost certainly undercount fireworks-related injuries. People don't always seek treatment, and hospitals may not report every case. Fireworks, especially when misused, can cause devastating injuries. For instance, the CPSC reported in 2015 that a 22-year-old man from Maine and a 47-year-old man from Michigan died in separate incidents after placing launch tubes for mortar-style fireworks on their heads after lighting the devices.   read more

The lawsuit says this "extraordinary abuse of government authority" starts with the over-policing of poor black communities, which causes excessive citations for...municipal violations." The plaintiffs say they were "locked in a cage" solely because they couldn't afford cash payment for minor violations. "And each was left to languish in filthy, often overcrowded jail cells because he or she could not afford to pay the jacked-up fines, penalties, and other charges that defendants assessed."   read more

The sheriff's department whose deputy tossed a student across a classroom after she refused to give up her cellphone agreed with the Justice Dept to help end a "school-to-prison pipeline." Two classmates recorded videos showing Fields flipping the teen out of her chair and tossing her across the room, sparking national outrage. Niya Kenny, an 18-year-old, verbally challenged the officer, saying what he was doing was wrong. She was arrested as well and charged with "disturbing schools."   read more

Morgan's lawsuit said the Motor Vehicle Commission violated her First Amendment rights when its website rejected the 8THEIST vanity plate. She received a message stating her request "may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency." She then filled out the online application using the phrase BAPTIST, which the website accepted. She said she sent the agency a letter of complaint by registered mail and made several attempts to contact it by phone, all of which went unanswered.   read more

Nearly 1 in 5 of the gay, lesbian and bisexual students said they'd been raped at some point in their lives, compared to 1 in 20 heterosexual students. Nearly 1 in 5 who had gone out with someone in the past year said their date had hit them, slammed them against a wall, or committed some other form of physical violence. That was more than twice what straight kids reported. About 1 in 3 said they had been bullied at school, while 1 in 5 straight kids had.   read more

I’m not sure who thought it was a good idea to make a concoction of toxic chemicals look like a refreshingly delicious beverage, but they do exist. The colorfully packaged cleaner Fabuloso has a record of mistaken identity. In 2006 researchers found 94 cases of people accidentally ingesting the household cleaner. Six long-distance mountain bikers in Norway drank laundry detergent thinking it was an energy drink and ended up in the hospital.   read more

Zero-tolerance emerged as a popular strategy in Baltimore more than 15 years ago. Its effectiveness was touted by O'Malley, who was elected in 1999 at a time when homicides were regularly topping 300 a year. He defended the approach again Wednesday, saying the report did not account for improvements under his watch. Current police leaders in Baltimore have disavowed zero-tolerance policing, but the legacy remains in the persistent stops and searches that yield neither citations nor arrests.   read more