Dash-cam footage showed agents smashing the car window of Navy veteran Thomas Sauer, 26, then forcibly yanking him from his car after he chose to “opt out” of discussing his citizenship. “I did it because I don't agree with the premise of questioning citizens without suspicion,” said Sauer. The incident led to his being fired from his job. “Often, local citizens are subjected to extended interrogation and detainment” said ACLU attorney Mitra Ebadolahi. “These are mini police-state zones.”   read more

Statistics show that Alabama judges, who are elected to the bench, have overridden juries in murder cases 111 times since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976. Of that 111, judges have upgraded the sentences to death 101 times. Of those, 80% occurred in the year leading up to a judge’s reelection. "Alabama judges, who are elected in partisan proceedings, appear to have succumbed to electoral pressures.” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor   read more

Until now, the Uniform Crime Report did not include hate crime data for any South Asian-American community. Instead, they were just lumped in with all Asian Americans. Supporters of the change said it was long overdue, noting that hate crimes against Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims have gone up since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.   read more

The atomic blasts rendered the Bikini atoll uninhabitable for decades, if not centuries. That didn’t stop the U.S. government from trying to resettle the Bikinians back home in the 1980s, only to discover the island was still too “hot” for anyone to live there. Now the Bikinians have a new problem: rising sea levels brought on by global warming. The Bikini Islanders have told the Interior Department that they want to move to the U.S. permanently.   read more

Those drawing the lines packed supermajorities of black voters into those districts, diluting their votes and removing the possibility of black voters having influence in more heavily white districts. Although 26% of Alabamans are black, only 5 of 35 state senators, or 14%, are black.   read more

Many of the troops never received proper treatment for their ailments related to the chemical exposure. The Army's Brad Carson said service personnel will now receive medical support for lingering health effects. “To me, the scandal is that we had protocols in place and the medical community knew what they were, and yet we failed in some cases to implement this across the theater. That was a mistake, and I apologize for that."   read more

The Surveillance State Repeal Act is the most far-reaching anti-surveillance legislation drafted to date. “This isn’t just tinkering around the edges, it’s a meaningful overhaul that makes sure the meaningless surveillance of emails and cell phones are done away with,” said bill co-author Rep. Mark Pocan. “All mass surveillance does is violate the rights and put a chilling effect on the American people," said CATO Insititute's Patrick Eddington.   read more

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials decided to extend a public comment period on whether the agency should downgrade the classification of woodland caribou from endangered to threatened. The species has almost entirely disappeared from the lower 48 states, and currently numbers only 14 in areas near the Canadian border. Their numbers have dwindled in the face of habitat destruction by loggers and off-trail snowmobilers, and because of predation by wolves and mountain lions.   read more

The investigation uncovered more than 15 whistleblowers within DHS who had concerns with Mayorkas’ actions—“an unusually large number of witnesses,” according to Government Executive. “Their allegations were unequivocal: Mr. Mayorkas gave special access and treatment to certain individuals and parties,” the report said. "Many employees concluded, not unreasonably, that the pressure exerted on them was because the individuals involved were politically connected.”   read more

A small Utah town located near a major oil and gas drilling operation has witnessed a recent spike in infant deaths. Neonatal mortality rates in Vernal, population 10,000, went up six-fold from 2010 to 2013, according to statistics compiled by local resident and midwife Donna Young. Young’s troubling conclusion seemed to be backed up by a government health report on baby deaths in a tri-county area that includes Vernal. “I believe they know a lot more than what they’re divulging,” said Young.   read more

WDBJ got into trouble for showing a brief pornographic video clip on July 12, 2012, during a story on former porn star Tiffany Rose volunteering her time for a local rescue squad. The segment included three seconds from the woman’s website that featured an explicit video clip in a box on the side of the webpage. The fine of $325,000 against the station is the maximum amount that can be levied by the FCC.   read more

Koch gave $15 million to fund the Hall of Human Origins at the National Museum of Natural History. The exhibit suggests that humans can simply evolve to adapt to the changes brought about by climate change. One part of the exhibit asks visitors whether humans might develop bigger sweat glands or become tall and thin, like giraffes. Since the temperatures are increasing faster than humans could possibly develop those traits, the exhibit is misleading.   read more

NYPD numbers revealed black suspects were arrested in 54% of murders, 55% of thefts, and 49% of assaults. But 74% of homicides reported by the four stations where race was identified had black suspects; suspects in 84% of thefts reported on were African-American and in assault cases mentioned by the stations, 73% of suspects were black.   read more

Chief Justice James Hardesty testified before a joint senate subcommittee that the court needed $700,000 by May 1 or it will be out of money. Law enforcement is not generating the same amount of revenue from traffic tickets as it once did, he said, and that’s robbing the high court of funds for operations. “I’m not faulting law enforcement...[but] the truth is that we’re seeing less traffic violations because law enforcement’s priorities have changed...dramatically."   read more

While inside a Publix supermarket, Derek Wood, 11, wanted to eat a “Chocolate Chew” cookie. Due to the boy’s allergy to tree nuts, his relatives first asked if the cookie was nut-free. They were told the cookie was nut-free. Derek suffered a fatal asthma attack after eating the cookie. His family is now suing Publix, saying it should be held liable under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act for not properly identifying allergens in the foods it sells.   read more

Daniel Poneman, the Energy Department’s second most powerful official for five years, will now become president and CEO of Centrus Energy Corp. with a salary of $1.7 million a year. “DOE has long had an improper relationship with USEC (now Centrus),” said Sen. John Barrasso. “Mr. Poneman’s appointment...only promises to make that record worse.” Said Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum, “[It’s] one of the more problematic revolving-door issues that I can remember.”   read more