So many trains carrying crude oil from North Dakota pass through Pennsylvania that an estimated 1.5 million residents live in evacuation zones near rail lines. The 1.5 million Pennsylvanians represent 11.5% of the state population. In addition, 550 K-12 schools, 37 hospitals and 61 nursing homes are in evacuation zones.   read more

Benito Vasquez-Hernandez and his son Moises Vasquez-Santiago were arrested in September 2012 because of the suspicion that Moises’ older brother, Eloy Vasquez-Santiago, had killed a woman. Moises was released from custody last September after 727 days in jail when he gave a statement to prosecutors on video. But Benito seemed disoriented during the same process and didn’t address any of the questions posed by the judge or prosecutors. He just kept repeating, “I didn’t do anything.”   read more

The issue of oil shipments and the risk of explosion from derailments were raised again when a train carrying toxic Bakken oil went up in flames in neighboring West Virginia on Feb. 16. That fire continued for days. “If something catastrophic happens, there’s no municipality along the railroad that can handle it,” said Fire Chief Richard Lengel. Between 60 and 70 crude-laden trains pass through Pennsylvania each week on their way to refineries in Philadelphia and other cities.   read more

The Republican National Committee has condemned the guidelines, claiming they are “radically revisionist,” a sentiment echoed by lawmakers in four other states. Georgia’s senate adopted a resolution that mirrored the RNC’s complaint. The Republican push to end AP history began after The College Board overhauled the course. Board officials said they merely tried to address concerns that the previous AP history classes didn’t allow teachers to focus more on some areas of American history.   read more

“The point of my legislation is to take the state out of the process and leave marriage in the hands of the clergy,” said Republican state Rep. Todd Russ, the bill’s author and an Assemblies of God minister. But Troy Stevenson said the bill "puts all couples who plan to marry in Oklahoma at risk of being denied hundreds of federal legal rights and protections... The federal government and other states will not be required to acknowledge these proposed ‘marriage certificates.’"   read more

The groups hope to have the federal courts end the NSA’s mass collection of Internet communications, which the agency claims is legal under the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act. “We’re filing suit today on behalf of our readers and editors everywhere,” said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. “Surveillance erodes the original promise of the internet: an open space for collaboration and experimentation, and a place free from fear.”   read more

A federally funded study shows the percentage of individuals who either own a gun or live with someone who does has declined from about 50% in late 1970s and early 1980s to only 32% by last year. The popularity of hunting has declined as well, going from 32% in 1977 to less than half that rate now. But records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show “an increase in the number of background checks being run, suggesting the total number of firearms being purchased is going up.”   read more

One former FBI agent, Jane Turner, reported on colleagues who stole items from Ground Zero in New York in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. She was subsequently retaliated against by the bureau. “After making this whistleblower disclosure, she was given a ‘does not meet expectations’ rating, placed on leave, and given a notice of proposed removal,” the GAO reported. Turner won her case but couldn’t get her job back. “It cost me my career," she said   read more

The agricultural industry has long relied on immigrants, many of whom are undocumented, to pick crops, and Smith’s legislation would force farmers to end this practice.The AWC warned that “the economic impacts of this will spread far beyond the farm gate as Americans working in industry sectors both upstream and downstream of the farm will see their jobs threatened. Each of the 2 million hired farm employees supports two to three fulltime American jobs" in multiple sectors.   read more

The order affected several companies, including Chevron, drilling for oil in Kern County using injection wells. Officials said they had not discovered any contamination of aquifers in the drilling areas, but were merely taking precautions. “The protection of California’s groundwater resources — as well as public health — is paramount, particularly in this time of extreme drought,” said Steven Bohlen of the California Department of Conservation.   read more

In Yakima, Washington, which is one-third Latino, officials will have to create voting districts for city council elections. The change is expected to finally bring a Latino to office after nearly 40 years. The city of Grand Prairie has been accused of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and denying fair representation to Hispanic voters. Currently, all of the city’s council members are white, despite the population being nearly 43% Hispanic.   read more

San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is attempting to prosecute 15 individuals on charges of conspiracy for belonging to a gang from the Lincoln Park neighborhood of San Diego, even though none of them participated in the actual murder. The men are facing life in prison if they’re found guilty by association.   read more

Since the Department of Justice announced the sentencing-review initiative more than a year ago, the administration has received more than 35,000 requests from inmates across the country—about 16% of the federal prison population. With so many petitions to review, the agency has failed to issue any clemency decisions based on requests filed since the announcement.   read more

Holland joined USGS in issuing an official statement stating that fracking may be responsible for the increasing risk of earthquakes in Oklahoma. Within a week, Holland was called in to a meeting at the Oklahoma Commission with Continental oil executive Jack Stark, where displeasure was expressed about Holland’s statement. Holland later insisted he wasn’t pressured to alter his scientific findings.   read more

Some police departments have invested in Taser’s cameras after their chiefs forged “financial ties” with Taser, “raising conflict-of-interest questions.” “Taser [covers expenses] for police chiefs who speak at promotional conferences and is hiring recently retired chiefs as consultants, sometimes months after their cities signed contracts" with Taser, said AP. The police chief in Fort Worth even told Taser that he deserved “a raise” for lobbying his department to sign a contract with Taser.   read more

Gun enthusiasts are outraged by a federal proposal to ban a type of armor-piercing bullets capable of penetrating ballistic vests worn by law enforcement officers now that the rounds can be used in handguns. Varieties of 5.56 mm rounds with metal cores that are commonly used in AR-15 assault rifles would be prohibited under new rules crafted by the ATF. Ammunition makers would be barred from producing, selling, importing or distributing the rounds.   read more