North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and other GOP state officials hoped the Supreme Court would grant a stay that would keep their law in place. The split meant a loss for the state's appeal. Voters thus will not have to show one of several qualifying photo IDs when casting ballots in the presidential battleground state. It also means early voting also reverts back to 17 days, to begin Oct. 20. The now defunct rules would have reduced the number of early voting days to 10.   read more

"We have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water," said FDA's Dr. Woodcock. Studies showed changes in testosterone, estrogen and thyroid hormones. Scientists worry that it could raise the risk of infertility, early puberty and even cancer. Because the chemicals are known to kill some bacteria, even if they are no better than soap, experts worry that routine use will help allow drug-resistant germs to emerge that cannot be killed by antibiotics.   read more

A judge will allow the Engineers to keep shooting cormorants by the thousands,despite objections from environmentalists who say the slaughter doesn't address the real cause of dwindling salmon populations: hydroelectric dams. Since 2015, the government has shot 4,740 cormorants and poured vegetable oil on 6,181 nests to suffocate the eggs. Judge Simon said the government violated the law by not considering other ways to increase salmon survival rates but declined to stop the killing.   read more

Letting the FBI into the Ohio database would give the federal government access to millions of photographs from sources that include drivers' licenses and criminal mug shots. "The FBI's ongoing track record of widespread mass surveillance and blatant disregard for laws and policies meant to protect our privacy should, at the very minimum, give Ohio pause," Daniels wrote. The FBI now has access to over 30 million images--most of which are of persons who have no criminal record.   read more

“Each year, the U.S. imprisons more than half a million individuals who have never been convicted of a crime, largely because they are unable to post bail," the researchers wrote. “People can end up losing their livelihoods, their homes, and even their children, when forced to wait in jail for their day in court, simply because they cannot afford cash bail," wrote Steinberg. "Most come under tremendous pressure to take a plea bargain – regardless of guilt..."   read more

Fines, fees and restitution mandates are levied on juvenile offenders in every state, a new national survey of these practices has found. The effects are greatest on the poor and racial minorities, creating a two-tiered system of justice. In juvenile systems intended to help wayward youths go straight, the study found, these costs are often counterproductive, drawing young people, especially poor minorities, ever deeper into the maze of criminal courts and straining already-fragile families.   read more

Juanita Stanley, co-owner of Flowertown Bee Farm, described the devastating effect of the aerial spraying. "My bee yard looks like it's been nuked," she said. The farm lost nearly 2.5 million honeybees from 46 hives as a result of the spraying. "My wife called a short time after the flyover and said, 'We have a mass kill,'" hobby beekeeper Andrew Macke reported. "We have thousands and thousands of bees dead all around our pool deck and our driveway, just everywhere."   read more

Testing with radiation monitors was done at places where the truck likely stopped. Workers washed the material that spilled onto U.S. 191 off the pavement and removed 5 yards to 6 yards of potentially contaminated soil. The company said it isn't aware of any danger to the environment or people. The sludge is a normal byproduct of in-situ uranium mining. The solution is processed into yellowcake, which can be processed further into nuclear fuel.   read more

More people are using marijuana, using it more often and far fewer think it's risky, the survey found. That runs counter to scientific research about pot, said Dr. Compton. "If anything, science has shown an increasing risk that we weren't as aware of years ago," he said. Other research has increasingly linked marijuana use to mental impairment, and early, heavy use by people with certain genes to increased risk of developing psychosis, he noted.   read more

Researchers found that after the law, there was an increase in the percentage of patients who required additional medical treatment to complete their abortions. Medical interventions rose to 14.3 percent compared to 4.9 percent before law. Such treatment included repeat dosages of the drugs, blood transfusions and surgery. The rate of women reporting at least one side effect also increased to 15.6 percent from 8.4 percent.   read more

When a federal court overturned much of N. Carolina’s sweeping 2013 election law last month, saying it had been deliberately designed to discourage African-Americans from voting, the ground rules for this year’s elections in a critical swing state were thrown out too. Critics are accusing some of the boards of staging an end run around the court ruling. Like the law that was struck down, they say, many election plans have been intentionally written to suppress the black vote.   read more

Planning on picking up a flowering plant at your local garden center to attract bees? If you're thinking it hasn't been treated with harmful pesticides, think again. A new report shows that 23% of such plants sold at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, True Value and Walmart have been treated with bee-toxic pesticides. It is one of the contributors to population declines in bees and other pollinators. Bees and other pollinators are essential for everyone.   read more

The lawsuit against Pima County seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction to preserve image files generated during the early vote count in the primary and subsequent elections. Pima plans to delete the images after counting them, a problematic process, because "if there are any questions or concerns or auditing that would need to come up later, there's that kind of missing piece in the chain of custody of the ballots in the counting process," said attorney Nye.   read more

One horrifying example detailed the heart surgery of a 7-month-old child. The operation took extra hours after a suction tube used for blood was found clogged with that of a previous patient. Staffers found hair and dried blood on instruments, and were often forced to use malfunctioning equipment, like a cauterizing tool that burned a child's lip during use. Another harrowing incident had staffers scrambling to obtain tools to regulate a patient's heartbeat during his open heart surgery.   read more

Georgia voters have had to prove where they lived, been purged from rolls and rejected from registering to vote. Will any of that will have a chilling effect on voter participation this presidential election? Voting rights groups have made Georgia one of the most closely watched states in the nation, given fears that the state's elections agency has become too partisan, tried to hinder registrations or suppress turnout. On top of that: Georgia could be in play in the presidential race.   read more

According to investigations in several states, Insys’ business model relied on funneling substantial payments to the doctors who most frequently prescribed its drugs, even if they had troubling disciplinary records or even criminal histories. The lawsuit alleges the speaking events “functioned more as social gatherings,” and physicians in attendance hardly mentioned the drug at all, instead ordering as much food and drink as they liked.   read more