Judge Chutkan wrote that it was “particularly puzzling” that for some documents there was “no explanation of how the information, if released, could risk circumvention of the law, no explanation of what laws would purportedly be circumvented, and little detail regarding what law enforcement purpose is involved (other than vague references to ‘national security concerns.’) This is not enough to justify withholding records under the FOIA.”   read more

The VW plant employs more than 3,200 workers. “I am very concerned as to the financial impact these violations could present to the state of Tennessee,” wrote State Senator Watson. “Some people are going to lose jobs, at least temporarily,” Hutchinson said. The number of VW vehicles potentially involved in the scandal ranges from 500,000 in the United States to 11 million worldwide. The Chattanooga plant makes the Passat, whose diesel models have the cheating software.   read more

NHTSA failed to include at least 101 vehicle deaths in 2013 related to police chases. The agency’s total was 322, which was off by 31%. The undercount may go back to 1979, meaning the total of police chase-related deaths is not 11,506, as reported by NHTSA, but more than 15,000. “The findings expose potentially major flaws in how the federal government tracks motor-vehicle fatalities and...how police document high-speed chases, which often result in innocent people being killed," said Frank.   read more

The Department of Environmental Quality in North Carolina handed Duke Energy a sweet deal in recently reducing a $25 million fine over the company’s coal ash pollution to $7 million. Part of the deal granted Duke amnesty for coal ash dumps at its 14 plants. Environmentalists were outraged at the deal.   read more

U.S. Border Patrol destroyed videotapes sought in a suit that charges immigrants are kept in cold, dirty and inhumane cells for extended lengths of time. The Border Patrol was ordered to allow inspections of their Tucson Sector facilities and retain videotapes made there. But some tapes were destroyed despite the order. The judge sanctioned the agency.   read more

Statistically, there is a mass shooting in the United States every week. Since November 2012, there have been 993 mass shooting events in the country. The tragedy at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1 was No. 994. In 2015 alone, there have been 294 mass shootings, which is defined as four or more people killed or injured by gunfire.   read more

Timothy Korb, an attorney with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which helps protect federal whistleblowers, told of the board’s own backlog of cases and foot dragging. Korb was ordered suspended 21 days without pay and stripped of some duties. A judge sided with Korb and the MSPB backed down before the suspension took effect.   read more

At the recent state dinner held in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping many diners paid $1 million to be on the guest list. The dinner was packed with big-money donors to political campaigns and organizations. The total contributions made since 2007 by that evening’s dinner guests amounted to nearly $19 million.   read more

Rise for Youth, which consists of civil rights, religious and fiscal-reform activists, wants Virginia schools to stop using the justice system to handle minor misbehavior, and hopes to reduce the number of kids being sent to youth prisons in the state, which is the nation's leader in juvenile arrests and incarceration.   read more

PG&E said the water drained when workers doing routine maintenance removed some brush and materials from a clogged outlet valve. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) requires that a minimum amount of water be released from the dam to keep fish alive in Hamilton Branch. There are also logging interests downstream. There wasn’t a lot of water in the reservoir before it went dry (maybe 170 acre feet), but folks were fishing in it the week before.   read more

Since 2006, nearly 500 women have been charged with endangering their unborn children. Women who may have taken a sleeping pill a few days before giving birth have been swept up by the law, as have those who have falsely tested positive for drugs. “If hospitals are not informing their patients about what their drug-testing policies are, particularly when those results are used to involve law enforcement in their patients’ lives, that is an unconstitutional act,” said advocate Sara Ainsworth.   read more

The EPA has updated the Steam Electric Power guidelines, which have not changed since 1982, to include restrictions that prevent 1.4 billion pounds of toxic metals and other pollutants from reaching waterways annually. Federal regulators are targeting 64,400 pounds of lead, which has been linked to developmental and reproductive problems, and 79,200 pounds of arsenic, a known carcinogen. EPA estimates that compliance costs for the rule will total around $480 million per plant.   read more

Of 400 oncologists surveyed, nearly 50% said they had been informed how to identify patients who might be prospective donors. Some doctors were even promised a cut of the action: payments if a patient made a donation. Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, said the practice of asking doctors to help raise money raises ethical issues. “Patients may be emotionally vulnerable; doctors have very close ties to their patients, which can strain asking on both sides."   read more

Boxing is responsible for about 20% of the concussions suffered by West Point cadets--97 concussions during the last three years, more than from any other sport. “No brain trauma is good brain trauma...there can still be lasting damage,” said Dr. Cantu. "Whatever benefit a cadet gains from boxing, the cost of...becoming more vulnerable to injury down range, are detrimental to military readiness,” said Brenda Fulton. “It’s possible by trying to prepare our cadets, we are making them less ready.”   read more

The director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, Jeff Tittel, criticized the DEP for waiting so long to test the former home of a pesticide manufacturer. “The failure to act all these years has even contributed to more contamination to spread and could lead to health problems since arsenic is a carcinogen,” said Tittel. “The DEP dropped the ball and we are glad the EPA has picked it up.” DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna defended his agency, noting the site “was never on anybody’s radar."   read more

Figures released by the FBI showed police across the country made more than 700,000 arrests on marijuana-related charges in 2014. “It’s unacceptable that police still put this many people in handcuffs for something that a growing majority of Americans think should be legal,” said Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority. “A record number of states are expected to vote on legalizing marijuana next year, so we hope and expect to see these numbers significantly dropping soon.”   read more