In accepting the job at the SEC, to which she was sworn in in April 2013, White pledged to wait a minimum of two years before handling any matters affecting a former employer or client. But, according to the waiver, the agency seemed to believe that it could not do without White’s expertise on Simpson Thacher, which represents “a large number of entities regulated by the [SEC] and appear before [it] regularly.”   read more

Valerie Deant, a sergeant in Florida’s National Guard, went to the Medley Police Firearms Training Center for her annual weapons certification when she noticed a familiar face on one of the targets riddled with bullets: her brother, Woody. Woody Deant served four years in prison last decade for taking part in a fatal drag race, but has since has gotten his life together. He was 18 when the booking photo was taken 15 years ago.   read more

Newly-elected Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation Thursday that moved from committee to his desk in one day and was the first bill he signed as governor. It will apply to students graduating in 2017. The test will be the one administered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to prospective citizens. Students will have to get 60 out of 100 questions correct to receive a passing grade.   read more

The controversy prompted the CIA’s top man, John Brennan, to organize a panel to determine whether his agency had acted improperly. He stacked the five-member panel with three senior CIA officers, plus Robert F. Bauer, who has gone out of his way to protect the CIA from any wrongdoing with the torture program. The CIA panel’s report reached the opposite conclusion of the CIA’s inspector general, who previously said the five officers were wrong to search the files used by the Senate committee.   read more

The newspaper’s lawyer warned that the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent that could negatively impact news reporting. “If you are investigated for stealing public money, your expectation of privacy does not exceed my right to know you stole public money,” she said. Judge Moses said he “struggles with a government entity suing a private entity... I am terribly concerned that the Gazette gets sued and nothing is disclosed to them at all... It is chilling,"   read more

Federal prosecutors claim Sterling divulged classified information to get back at the CIA for not settling a discrimination lawsuit he launched against the agency. Sterling insists his actions were those of a whistleblower concerned about CIA management, which was why he raised concerns with the Senate committee. Sterling is the “latest in a string of former officials and contractors the Obama administration has charged with discussing national security matters with reporters,” wrote the Times.   read more

“Laws designed to silence anyone, even people society may find disagreeable, are unconstitutional and bad for democracy,” said ACLU's Shuford. The ACLU was joined in the suit by journalists, news outlets and advocacy organizations, as well as four former convicts who fear the law will stifle their ability to speak publicly. The law came into being following a speech by a convicted cop killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal.   read more

Flashbangs can inflict serious wounds if they explode next to a human body. Their flash powder is hot enough to cause second-degree burns on flesh, and the concussion from their blast has been shown to sever hands and fingers, cause heart attacks, burn down homes and kill pets. Some police forces report using flashbangs up to 80% of the time during their raids, where their targets are often found to be innocent or guilty of only minor offenses.   read more

Over the past three years, pot seizures near the Mexico border have declined 37%, according to the Post. That’s because Americans now prefer higher-quality, domestic marijuana options that have increasingly become available in the 23 states that have approved marijuana for recreational or medical use. U.S. product is more in demand because they are “genetically improved strains, grown in greenhouses,” said Raul Benitez-Manaut.. “That’s why the Mexican cartels are switching to heroin and meth.”   read more

The Brooklyn district attorney’s office is now reviewing 70 cases that Scarcella worked on, most of which were investigated two or three decades ago. And what they’re finding is that this “star detective” may indeed be guilty of what his accusers have been charging—that he has, over the decades, engaged in witness tampering, forced confessions, and other illegal means of “getting his man” at any cost. Even if it has meant sending the innocent to prison.   read more

The Federal Bureau of Investigation found classified documents on the computer of Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing Petraeus’ biography, in 2012 after it was revealed that the two were having an affair and Petraeus resigned as CIA director. Some members of Congress have urged Holder to resist prosecution, claiming, in effect, that Petraeus should not be held to the same laws as other Americans.   read more

Much of the library and museum maintains a cheerful, laudatory atmosphere until one checks in on the Watergate Exhibit. Naftali presented an in-depth, historically accurate depiction of the days leading up to the only presidential resignation in history, with a retrospective look at why it was important. The exhibit was not a family favorite. Some members boycotted its opening in 2011 and Naftali left shortly afterward.   read more

Four Californians stopped in Utah for taking pictures of agricultural buildings last September are apparently the first non-residents to be charged with violating the state’s controversial “ag-gag” law. Will Potter at Green Is the New Red says that the two Utah cases are the only ag-gag enforcements, nationally.   read more

Thousands of small dead and dying seabirds are washing up onshore from Northern California to Washington State and scientists don’t know why. If it turns out that Cassin’s auklets are dying from the loss of their food source, “They would be the first seabird species hit hard by a lack of krill,” according to the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association.   read more

“People who think we did the right thing in invading Iraq seem to be revising their memories to retroactively justify the invasion,” said poll researcher Dan Cassino. “This sort of motivated reasoning is pretty common: when people want to believe something, they’ll twist the facts to fit it.” The survey also revealed that 52% of respondents who said they watched Fox News said the WMD program discovery was “probably” or “definitely” true. Only 14% of viewers of MSNBC said that WMDs were found.   read more

The U.S. population currently is 73% Christian, but they’re overrepresented in Congress, according to Pew Research. A survey found that 92% of the members of the House and Senate belong to a Christian denomination. That’s even a higher percentage than in the last session, but Congress lost five Jews, one Buddhist and one unaffiliated member. The largest bloc now is made up of Protestants (57%), followed by Catholics (31%). There are 28 Jews, who make up only 5% of Congress.   read more