Supporters of the bipartisan bill say it is needed to ensure freedom of speech in a growing online economy. It was written in response to businesses that have made customers sign non-disparagement clauses and then sued if a bad review showed up. In one case, a Dallas couple was sued by a pet-sitting company for up to $1 million after giving the company a one-star review on Yelp and complaining that their fish had been overfed. The case was dismissed this past summer.   read more

More people died of opioid overdose deaths in Ohio during 2014 than any other state, providing further proof that Ohio is the epicenter of an opioid epidemic ravaging the nation. And it appears doubtful Ohio will relinquish the grim standing soon. "We still have not peaked yet," said ADAMHS's Jones-Kelley. "That's the scariest part." Fentanyl -- and more recently carfentanil -- are extraordinarily potent synthetic opiates that officials blame for the ever-rising number of deaths.   read more

When Donald Trump named his Treasury secretary, Teena Colebrook felt her heart sink. She had voted for Trump believing he'd knock the rich elites from their perch in Washington. And she knew Trump's pick for Treasury — Steven Mnuchin — all too well. His bank, OneWest, had foreclosed on her home in the aftermath of the Great Recession. "I just wish that I had not voted," said Colebrook. "They all promise you the world at the end of a stick and take it away once they get in."   read more

Some who track racists in America say Trump’s effect has been unmistakable. A range of white supremacist and so-called Alt-Right websites have seen surges in traffic across the last year. And many sites, among them Red Ice, which has advanced the idea that “the United States of America was built by white people for white people” and American Renaissance, which derides African Americans and Latinos as low-IQ losers, have seen their traffic more than double over the past year.   read more

Democrats called for investigations into President-elect Trump's controversial financial ties with foreign businesses and governments. But Rep. Chaffetz, who promised before the election to investigate Hillary Clinton for years, says no rush on Trump. Instead he is pledging to continue investigating Clinton. Said Rep. Cummings: "For Republicans, there was no allegation too small to investigate with respect to Secretary Clinton, but now there is no scandal too big to ignore for Donald Trump."   read more

While 52% of Republicans say they want the law completely repealed, that share is down from 69% just last month, before the election. More Republicans now say they want the law "scaled back" under Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, with that share more than doubling from 11% before the Nov. 8 election to 24% after. It could be that some Republicans "got a protest vote off their chests, and they're done with that," Kaiser CEO Altman said. "They now have a more moderate position."   read more

Administration officials said the changes would improve public involvement and government transparency by adding additional steps to land-use planning. The changes were backed by conservation and sporting groups. TRCP's Joel Webster said the rule would ensure decisions affecting wildlife such as mule deer weren't hobbled by artificial boundaries that separate bureau field offices. U.S. Sen. John Barrasso pledged to work to reverse the action once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.   read more

A new scientific study says the state is on its way back to calmer times. The state ordered what is essentially a 40% reduction in injection of the saltwater that scientists generally blame for the massive increase in earthquakes. Before the new rules went into effect in May, Oklahoma averaged 2.3 quakes a day. Since then the average dropped to 1.3 a day. “We’re not out of the woods yet. There is still a possibility for potentially damaging earthquakes,” Zoback said.   read more

Donald Trump promised to "drain the swamp" in the nation's capital. Instead, he's diving right in. So far, he is tapping people with deep ties to Washington and Wall Street as he fills out his Cabinet, turning to two power centers he vilified as greedy, corrupt and out of touch with Americans during his campaign. His choices have won praise from Republicans relieved by his more conventional choices, but could risk angering voters who rallied behind his calls for upending the political system.   read more

Women “are less likely than men to attend the schools that send a high percentage of graduates into the profession,” said professor Deborah J. Merritt. This means women “start at a disadvantage” that may well continue throughout their professional lives, Merritt said. Despite the high numbers with law degrees, women hold fewer than 20% of partnerships at law firms and are underrepresented in the higher echelons of law, including the ranks of judges.   read more

In the 10 days following the November election, SPLC has collected 867 hate-related incidents from almost every state. Anti-immigrant hate incidents targeting Latinos, Asians and Africans made up the largest number of claims, followed by anti-black and anti-Semitic incidents. More than 10,000 teachers reported more than 2,500 fights and threats related to election rhetoric, and an increase in slurs and derogatory language, swastikas, Confederate flags and Nazi salutes.   read more

If the former detainees are successful, it would be the first time a U.S. civilian court has held individuals accountable for their role in counterterrorism policies after the 9/11 attacks. Legal experts say the Trump administration could force the case’s dismissal on national security grounds. Deciding whether to invoke the state secrets privilege could represent Trump’s first chance to weigh in on the issue. He has endorsed the use of torture and said he would bring back waterboarding.   read more

Environmental and consumer safety advocacy groups praised the move, but expressed concern about the new administration. Trump, a frequent critic of EPA regulations, put in charge of EPA transition Myron Ebell, whose corporate-funded think tank promotes the "life-enhancing value of chemicals" while sowing doubt about "fear-mongering" scientific studies that show risks to human health and the environment from pesticides and other products. It recently questioned the need for an asbestos ban.   read more

"If Trump is not qualified and my role, both morally and historically, as an elected official is to vote my conscience, then I cannot and will not vote for Donald Trump for President," said Sisneros. He added that his signing a party pledge to support Trump was tantamount to sin. "I was wrong in signing this pledge and not communicating to the body when I ran that my conscience would not be bound by it... I humbly confess that it was wrong for me to do so."   read more

Trump could cripple faith in the electoral system by tweeting that ``millions of people'' voted illegally despite a lack of evidence. The concern, said attorney Clarke, is that state lawmakers will respond by crafting laws making it even tougher for all eligible voters to cast ballots. "It's a call to arms...to raise efforts to make voting more difficult,'' she said. Those laws are more likely to affect African Americans and Latinos, who bear a disproportionate burden of restrictive voter laws.   read more

"Republicans will control this government, but they cannot hand that control over to big corporations unless Democrats roll over and allow them to do so," said Warren. "They didn't send us here to whimper, whine or grovel. They sent us here to say no to efforts to sell Congress to the highest bidder." She said the research bill would "legalize fraud" by reducing the scientific evidence the government needs to approve existing drugs for new uses.   read more