Critics vowed to appeal the ruling and charged that the legislature sought to eliminate tools that made it easier for everyone, particularly minority voters, to get to the polls. “By meticulously targeting measures that were most used by people of color — in addition to imposing a restrictive photo ID requirement — the Legislature sought to disturb the levers of power in North Carolina, ensuring only a select few could participate in the democratic process,” said Penda Hair.   read more

The store owners, all first- and second-generation immigrants, say they felt entrapped and then strong-armed into signing settlements with steep fines and onerous conditions. The stipulations often allow for sweeping surveillance, such as warrantless searches and unbridled police access to video cameras. They also permit the NYPD to automatically fine and padlock a store should another allegation arise — all without giving merchants the opportunity to defend themselves in court.   read more

Both states have been hit by hotel cancellations from tourists who spend a combined tens of billions of dollars annually. Local hotels, tourist boards, industry associations and government officials fear that a boycott will continue to dampen business. Making matters tougher for the businesses, the Foreign Office in Britain has issued an advisory for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender travelers going to the two states based on the laws.   read more

Weeks after a prison inspector privately told a state Senate committee about cover-up and abuse at the prison agency, he was hit with six internal investigations in a single day, all aimed at discrediting him or forcing him out. Doug Glisson was then moved from his office into a former broom closet. When Glisson protested to his supervisors, he was subjected to a verbal tirade from Inspector Falstrom so loud and filled with invective that it scared the other office staff who overhead it all.   read more

Fusion centers have been criticized by both the political left and right. A 2014 report found they had been used to track and monitor Occupy Wall Street protesters. The Cato Institute alleged center employees conducted surveillance of Tea Party groups and Second Amendment rallies. One center allegedly targeted supporters of congressman Ron Paul while he was running for U.S. president. Homeland Security itself identified privacy risks at centers, including data mining and excessive secrecy.   read more

Amid intensifying national attention over harsh sentencing policies that have disproportionately affected African-Americans, governors and legislatures around the nation have been debating — and often fighting over — moves to restore voting rights for convicted felons. Virginia imposes especially harsh restrictions, barring felons from voting for life. “There’s no question that we’ve had a horrible history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans — we should remedy it,” said McAuliffe.   read more

The cases were brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which represented two service providers. EFF attorney Andrew Crocker said they are "extremely disappointed that the superficial changes in the NSL statutes were determined to be good enough to meet the requirements of the First Amendment. NSL recipients can still be gagged at the FBI's say-so, without any procedural protections, time limits or judicial oversight. This is a prior restraint on free speech, and it's unconstitutional."   read more

The increase was substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s. The rise was particularly steep for women, including an alarming increase among girls 10 to 14, whose suicide rate, while still very low, had tripled. The data analysis also provided fresh evidence of suffering among white Americans, showing surges in deaths from drug overdoses, suicides, liver disease and alcohol poisoning.   read more

The Navy is following the lead of the General Services Administration, which last year became the first federal agency to require its vendors to report carbon emission and set lower targets. The U.S. military is also broadening its use of solar and other renewable energy, seeking to lessen its dependence on supply chains and on oil, a commodity vulnerable to global tensions. The Navy is responsible for about one-third of the Pentagon's use of fossil fuel, Mabus said   read more

State attorneys general said ACICS had “ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable students whom it was charged to protect.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed Gray for propping up Corinthian Colleges amid allegations of fraud. “How many federal and state agencies need to file lawsuits against one of your colleges before your organization takes a second look at whether that school should be eligible for accreditation, and most importantly, federal money?” she demanded.   read more

Cornucopia, which takes its name from the city in Wisconsin where it is based, accuses the defendants of "appointing unqualified individuals to the National Organic Standards Board," a 15-member committee that advises the USDA on how to implement the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act. "The American people have a right to trust that food certified as organic is free of inappropriate or inadequately reviewed synthetic substances that do not comport with the OFPA," the complaint states.   read more

Hours before New Yorkers handed Democratic president hopeful Hillary Clinton and her likely Republican challenger Donald Trump highly coveted wins in their quest for the White House on Tuesday, a voting scandal erupted in the state's largest city. New York City's comptroller announced his office will audit the Board of Elections after it confirmed more than 125,000 Brooklyn voters were removed from the rolls, miscategorized by party and shut out of the Democratic process.   read more

This largely liberal region is struggling with the devastating impact of opiate abuse, which is disrupting families and taking lives. Many lawmakers balk at the idea of legalizing a banned substance, citing potential social costs. “[People] ask themselves, ‘Are we sending the right message...?'” said Vermont House speaker Shap Smith. The opiate crisis, which has killed more than 1,000 people in New England last year, is a substantial stumbling block and figuring into anti-legalization alliances.   read more

District security director Richard Payne said he decided to spend more than $12,000 on the Bushmaster brand rifles for the district's eight armed officers. Payne said he made the decision to buy assault rifles himself and the school board has not discussed it. The superintendent approved the purchase after lengthy discussion. The move raised new questions about how far school officials should go in arming employees.   read more

“The increase in death in this segment of the population was great enough to affect life expectancy at birth for the whole group,” said Elizabeth Arias, the statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics who analyzed the data, referring to whites from their mid-20s to their mid-50s. “That is very unusual." Arias said drug overdoses, liver disease and suicide were the main drivers of the trends among whites in recent years, a pattern also found by other researchers.   read more

The FBI's Amy Hess defended the agency's hiring of a third party to break into a gunman's iPhone, telling some skeptical lawmakers Tuesday that it needed to join with partners in the rarefied world of for-profit hackers as technology companies increasingly resist their demands for consumer information. There is a growing discomfort by some in Congress and in the tech industry with the use of “gray hat” hackers, who may push the boundaries of the law.   read more