Some lawmakers and advocacy groups are critical of these vague and skimpy one-sentence bill drafts, saying they can shut out the public from important policy discussions, be used as a bait-and-switch tactic or lead to unintended consequences. Several lawmakers said that the finished product doesn't always get another public hearing. The National Conference of State Legislatures criticized such skeleton bills decades ago and in 1996 identified a dozen or so states that allowed them.   read more

Trump's election has reinvigorated the coalition, giving de Blasio the means to rally dissent among big city mayors and helping claim the mantle of a leading Trump antagonist among Democrats. The group also urged the White House to end a registration program for nonimmigrant visitors that could lead to a Muslim registry, an idea endorsed by Trump. Amid pressure from the mayors, Democrats in Washington and civil rights groups, the Obama administration moved last week to dismantle the program.   read more

Republicans argued that their proposal was about ensuring electoral fairness, but Democrats said it plainly smelled of a power grab. Before the measure became law, governors were allowed to appoint a simple majority in their party’s favor. Democrats have been vigorous in their complaints about Republican legislation curbing Cooper’s authority, and the measures that they approved during a hastily called special session will almost certainly be litigated for months.   read more

Peabody built its first mine on this coal-darkened plateau 50 years ago, and in the process dug up an adjacent American Indian village. Navajo horse trainer Grass called the dig a “desecration.” He and others said Peabody handed off 192 sets of human remains to an anthropology professor, destroyed ancient petroglyphs and archaeological ruins, and warehoused 1.2 million artifacts. They have joined with the Sierra Club to try to curb the mine expansion.   read more

There are 450 houses of worship in the U.S. that provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. The congregations joining this network have more than doubled since the election of Trump — a rapid rebuttal to Trump’s postelection promise to deport up to 3 million unauthorized immigrants. Protecting immigrants is a priority of the religious left, which has been jolted into action by Trump’s victory and his selection of an attorney general nominee who supports a crackdown on immigrants.   read more

The moves followed “years” of public input and proposals to protect the areas, said the White House. It will bring more to Utah's economy, and “ensure [the state's]...vast and beautiful landscape for many years," said Utah Democratic Party Chair Peter Corroon. "Where our Republican leaders have failed, Utah Democrats are committed to fighting for our public lands.” Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Lee said he will “work tirelessly” with Congress and Donald Trump’s administration to “undo” Obama's actions.   read more

In recent years, OneWest has foreclosed on at least 50,000 people, often in circumstances that consumer advocates say run counter to federal rules. Trump’s nomination of Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary has prompted new scrutiny of OneWest’s foreclosure practices. Mnuchin was the lead investor and chairman of the company during the years it ramped up its foreclosure efforts. In 2015, CIT bought OneWest for $3.4 billion, of which Mnuchin personally made about $380 million on the sale.   read more

The court revived efforts by conservative groups to force intervention by the U.S. attorney general in the effort to recover emails sent by Hillary Clinton on personal accounts while serving as secretary of state. When a judge dismissed the lawsuits as moot, the court noted that Attorney General Lynch’s help was unnecessary since Clinton had voluntarily turned over 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department. A three-judge panel reversed Tuesday.   read more

The paperless digital voting machines, used by 1 in 5 U.S. voters last month, present one of the most glaring dangers to the security of the rickety, underfunded U.S. election system. Most machines are near the end of their lifespans and run on vintage operating systems. Old, stockpiled machines get cannibalized; when they can't supply parts, officials scrounge on eBay. But while many experts agree the U.S. voting system needs an upgrade, no one wants to pay to fix it.   read more

The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Justice Dept in 2015 after it refused to release files on the Hemisphere Project. The secret program involved placing AT&T employees in police agencies to track records on trillions of phone calls. “It’s very clear AT&T is not only a willing participant but at the center of this mass surveillance program,” Mackey said. “We think it’s necessary not only the public knows but customers of these companies know...”   read more

Critics say the article is the latest in a series of efforts by the food industry to shape global nutrition advice by supporting academics to question the role of junk food in causing health problems. Some experts said it was an industry attempt to undermine healthy eating guidelines from the World Health Organization and reminiscent of tactics once used by the tobacco industry, which for decades enlisted scientists to become “merchants of doubt” about the health hazards of smoking.   read more

"Already, tens of thousands of people are going without birth control, cancer screenings, HIV tests, and other care. The maternal mortality rate continues to rise. Yet Greg Abbott is hell-bent on chasing this ideological agenda, regardless of how many women it hurts," said Yvonne Gutierrez. Planned Parenthood officials say they serve nearly 11,000 patients through Medicaid and will continue serving them as they fight the state's decision in federal court.   read more

The problem, McCaskill said, is that instead of an investigation, settlements are often negotiated for whistleblowers, which allows agency and manager to avoid admitting guilt. Such actions — like settlements by the Justice Dept with big banks — could have a chilling effect on people who want to come forward. This creates "a toxic work environment in which managers feel free to retaliate against legitimate whistleblowers knowing the case will be settled and their jobs will be safe,” she said.   read more

“NEW!” Sirchie asserted, describing the kit as an “industry first.” The only problem is that there is nothing new about it except its name. Sirchie’s records show the new kits are little more than a repurposed chemical test that has been used to detect all manner of substances for more than a century. There is, then, no special “design” to the product. And the reliability of the tests for the criminal justice system is exactly as it has always been: limited, and prone to error.   read more

A culture of secrecy and deference to physicians allows many doctors to keep practicing after they've been disciplined for sexual abuse of patients. In the thousands of cases examined, more than half the doctors disciplined for sexual misconduct since 1999 were still licensed to practice. Regulators or lawmakers in at least four states are using the findings to explore how their laws or rules can be improved. Some have already increased consumers' access to information about individual doctors.   read more

The ruling marks a partial legal win for a coalition of news organizations that filed a lawsuit over secrecy surrounding lethal injections. Snow's order requires the state to allow execution witnesses to view the entirety of an execution. Under current protocol, executioners are not seen administering the drug. Execution witnesses in the death of Wood were not aware until several days later that he was injected 15 times with the two-drug combination that was supposed to kill him with one dose.   read more