New York Mayor Bill De Blasio crafted language that was put into state legislation signed Friday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that requires developers of high rises that have a mix of affordable units and market-rate units to allow both groups to use the same doorways. "No taxpayer dollar should go to a program that further segregates our communities," said New York councilwoman Helen Brewer.   read more

Alabama’s chief justice, Roy Moore, has said he will resist the Supreme Court ruling, while his wife, Kayla Moore, head of The Foundation for Moral Law, wrote on Facebook that “the U.S. Supreme Court [has] no legal authority to redefine marriage.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told county clerks to ignore the ruling and refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.   read more

The images show both the interiors and exteriors of CIA secret locations where detainees were held and interrogated. They reportedly include detainee cells, bathrooms, naked prisoners at the time of transport, confinement boxes that held detainees, and a waterboard in the “Salt Pit,” the largest CIA detention facility in Afghanistan. Also said to be depicted are members of the CIA and foreign intelligence services, along with interrogation program architects James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen.   read more

Ask a cop what kind of extremist they’re most concerned about and the answer is likely to be those opposed to the government, not Muslim terrorists. Anti-government extremists were listed more than any other by far: 73.8%. Al Qaeda-inspired extremists came in a distant second, at 39.3%. The researchers also found that that law enforcement “perceive violent extremism to be a much more severe threat nationally than the threat of violent extremism in their own jurisdictions.”   read more

The FBI has contended since 2010 that the IG’s office lacks the legal authority to see documents related to certain matters, including grand juries, Title III electronic surveillances and Fair Credit Reporting Act information. FBI officials also claim they don’t have to share documents related to two investigations of alleged whistleblower retaliation, or those pertaining to an IG review of the FBI’s use of telephonic metadata.   read more

Glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, will finally undergo analysis for its effects on endangered species by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA’s agreement is only the beginning of a long, slow process. The agency has agreed to complete its assessments by 2020.   read more

A bill now moving through both houses of Congress at the behest of ROV firms would mandate a study by the National Academy of Sciences—at a cost to the CPSC of $800,000 to $1 million—to investigate whether those standards are necessary. The study is beside the point, of course. Manufacturers are hoping that by the end of two years, there will be a Republican administration in the White House that will appoint a corporative majority to the CPSC and the rule changes will just go away.   read more

The smoking gun was a report from a Wisconsin State Trooper about a fatal accident involving a Cobalt in which the ignition switch had turned off, preventing airbags from being deployed after the driver lost control of the car. GM was finally forced to recall 2.6 million vehicles to remedy the problem, which is responsible for at least 114 deaths.   read more

The research arm of Congress spends $100 million a year informing lawmakers on key policy issues through reports that are mostly hidden from the public. Now some groups are trying to make these reports available to those who paid for them—U.S. taxpayers. The reports by the Congressional Research Service are not classified. But nor are they put up online. Third-party sources offer them for sale, but it’s unreasonable to expect Americans to pay again for something they already financed.   read more

As if getting beaten isn’t bad enough, some towns have adopted ordinances that punish victims for being nuisances. In one case, a woman who had been warned by police not to make another 911 call was attacked by her boyfriend, leaving a four-inch stab wound in her neck. Her neighbor called 911 in spite of her pleas not to. Police demanded the landlord evict her. “These laws threaten citizens’ fundamental right to call on the police for help,” said Matthew Desmond.   read more

Their lawsuit claims Boeing knows its airplane cabins can become filled with toxic air but won’t do anything to solve the problem. The plaintiffs claim this problem is “a previously hidden and ‘dirty little secret’ of the commercial airline industry.” A flight attendants union said thousands of people traveling on commercial aircraft may have been exposed to these toxic fumes over the years, and still have the poisonous chemicals in their systems without being aware of it.   read more

Lindane is used for livestock and pet treatment, and on fruit and vegetable crops. It is also used topically for the treatment of head and body lice. Small quantities are used in certain lotions, cream, and shampoos. Although the chemical has been detected in groundwater near hazardous waste sites, the most likely exposure in humans is oral ingestion of food that contains traces of the insecticide. “Exposure to lindane can increase one’s risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 60%,” said TIME.   read more

An administration official said the White House felt it "needed to clarify that...we do not abandon families during a horrific ordeal." The official added that the threats of prosecution “should never have happened.” The administration has sent mixed signals on negotiating with hostage takers. It talked to the Taliban in Afghanistan to free Bergdahl but warned families of hostages held by the Islamic State and Al Qaeda that they won’t negotiate for their release or allow the families to do so.   read more

The recycling industry’s on-the-job injury rate is more than twice as high as that of the average worker. That’s because many recycling centers have unsafe working conditions involving heavy machinery and exposure to hazardous items, such as hypodermic needles, toxic chemicals, and animal carcasses. Also, these centers rely on temporary workers who have fewer workplace protections, often get less training, and are less likely to know about their legal rights to have a safe workplace.   read more

The pessimism is fueled by problems many are having in paying rent or their mortgages. Fifty-five percent said they had to make at least one sacrifice in the past three years to pay their landlord or bank. Twenty-one percent said they had to work more, 17% stopped saving for retirement, 14% accumulated credit card debt, and 12% cut back on healthy nutritious foods. “It is disturbing that people feel...prospects for social mobility are receding. This survey is a wake-up call," said Julia Stasch.   read more

The Hornes said the government violated the Fifth Amendment by “taking” their property without just compensation. Chief Justice John Roberts reached back to the Magna Carta and the American Revolution in categorically denying the government’s right to set up a raisin reserve program. He dismissed the Ninth Circuit’s argument that precedent dealt with real property and this case was about personal property. Property was property and government needed better excuses to take it.   read more