A former police sergeant has been held without charges for seven months in a federal detention cell, part of an effort by the authorities to pressure him to decrypt two computer hard drives. His case is the latest in a growing number of legal battles over digital privacy in the U.S. The challenges are playing out in courts across the country, propelling a national debate over when the government can compel individuals or companies to disclose codes or passwords giving access to private data.   read more

"Family detention camps are prisons," said Grassroots Leadership director Bob Libal. "They are not childcare facilities. DFPS has for a decade refused to regulate these facilities because they do not have authority to do so. The Texas agency has never regulated a facility this large. Yet they came up with a regulation allowing a license in three months. It was not done to protect children, but to protect the Obama administration's family detention program, putting children in harm's way."   read more

The CDC reported Tuesday that three in four young kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are put on medicines. New CDC data shows that's continued, even after research found behavior therapy is as effective and doesn't give children stomach aches, sleep problems or other drug side effects. On Tuesday, CDC officials doubled down on its previous recommendations, calling on doctors and families to try behavior therapy first. The CDC found 75% of the children were on medicine.   read more

So far the effect is subtle, not noticeable to the eye, and can only be detected by intricate chemical tests. But as ocean acidification increases, scientists expect more reefs to dissolve and become flatter, and that fish will leave. Also, increasing acidity eats away at the shells of the shellfish, making them easier prey for other fish and harder for humans to harvest. Scientists expected limestone to dissolve, but not until the second half of this century.   read more

Few could recount another instance where an evening newscast — the symbol of a network news brand — shifted its entire broadcast to a candidate’s home turf. “Is tomorrow night’s show going to be broadcast from Chappaqua?” ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum tweeted, referring to top Democratic contender Hillary Clinton’s residence. The tweet typified the surprised, and in some cases deeply skeptical, response to NBC’s move on social media, where TV's role in Trump’s rise is often fiercely debated.   read more

The move was applauded by public health experts who said the industry needed oversight and who had been waiting nearly seven years for the agency to provide it. But it infuriated many e-cigarette companies, which argued that the rules would crush smaller producers that could not afford the time and lawyers to complete an arduous federal applications process. That would have the effect of buoying big tobacco companies, some argued, many of which have gotten into the e-cigarette business.   read more

It would be the first significant change to a controversial law used to arrest and prosecute more than 500 women over the past decade, including some who used drugs under a doctor’s care. Many women were turned in to authorities by hospitals that conducted drug tests without consent. Alabama is one of three states that permit pregnant women to be arrested and prosecuted for drug use. It's the only state that allows arrests from early stages of pregnancy, even if babies are born unharmed.   read more

“We are a gun society...but we should be writing gun laws that make us safer,” said police chief Leonard Papania, “Do you want every incident on your street to escalate to acts of gun violence?” In more than a dozen states with long traditions of robust support for gun ownership rights, and where legislatures have relaxed gun laws, local police have been denouncing the measures. They say the new laws expose officers to greater danger and prevent them from doing their jobs effectively.   read more

Under the plan announced Wednesday, wind companies and other power providers could kill or injure up to 4,200 bald eagles a year without penalty — nearly four times the current limit. Golden eagles could only be killed if companies minimize the losses, such as by retrofitting power poles to reduce electrocution risk. Companies would pay a $36,000 fee for a long-term permit allowing them to kill or injure eagles, and would have to submit reports of how many eagles they kill.   read more

Congress is pushing the Agriculture Dept to exempt the groups behind promotional campaigns from public scrutiny of their internal operations despite recent controversy. The push comes after organizations representing eggs, pork, potatoes and even Christmas trees pressed for an exception from the federal Freedom of Information Act for programs that promote agricultural products. A provision supporting their push was part of spending legislation approved by a House panel last month.   read more

Reports found that 81% of the reef near the dredging site was buried in sediment, causing 93% partial coral death. Environmentalists have warned Congress and the state that the corps’ plan to lessen the damage to corals in that area is flawed. Coral reefs are critical to South Florida because they help lessen the damage from hurricanes, are crucial to marine biodiversity and lure tourists.   read more

Gov. Deal has received hundreds of letters, emails and calls. Most appear to lean toward him signing the bill, though sprinkled in among the appeals were notes from students and faculty members who objected to the legislation. "If approved, this law would result in those of us on campus feeling less safe, not more safe," read one faculty resolution. Teacher Nancy Jo Kirk warned such a law could deter top-notch professors fearful of campuses "potentially filled with hidden guns."   read more

In Wisconsin, Todd Allbaugh resigned as chief of staff to a leading Republican state senator last year after attending a party caucus in which, he said, some legislators “were literally giddy” over the effect of the state’s voter ID law on minorities and college students. “I remember when Republicans were the ones who helped Johnson pass the civil rights bill in the ‘60s — not Democrats,” said Allbaugh. “I went down to the office and said, ‘I’m done. I can’t support this party anymore.’”   read more

Only 3 percent of kids with concussions were hospitalized or transferred elsewhere for additional treatment; 95 percent were sent home after ER treatment. Half of the head injuries were in kids ages 5 to 9 and injuries were more common in boys. Playground equipment most commonly involved in concussions included monkey bars and swings. The study lacked details on how kids got hurt but many concussions result from falls.   read more

Health care workers are scrambling to help the people here cope with what many fear will be chronic consequences of the city’s water contamination crisis: profound stress, worry, depression and guilt. Uncertainty about their own health and the health of their children, the open-ended nature of the crisis, and raw anger over government’s role in both causing the lead contamination and trying to remedy it, are all taking their toll on Flint’s residents.   read more

White GOP state lawmakers in Alabama blocked the Birmingham City Council from raising the minimum wage for its mostly black population, a lawsuit claims. In a federal complaint filed on Thursday, the NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and two black fast-food workers, claim the state lawmakers have repeatedly pre-empted any local regulation of matters touching upon private sector employment.   read more