The Justice Dept sued Mississippi for forcing mentally ill people into state-run psychiatric hospitals instead of providing community-based services. It found the state "unnecessarily and illegally" institutionalizes adults and children with disabilities, and fails to ensure that they have access to necessary services. "For far too long, Mississippi has failed people with mental illness, violating their civil rights by confining them in isolating institutions," said Attorney General Lynch.   read more

Some drug policy experts said the refusal to reschedule marijuana would hamper research. “They are placing researchers in a Catch 22, by saying ‘We are not lifting this research barrier because there’s not enough evidence.’ But then people say, ‘We can’t do research because of this barrier,'” said DPA's Michael Collins. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said, “It shouldn’t take an act of Congress for the DEA to get past antiquated ideology and make this change.” Others were thrilled the DEA did not budge.   read more

Attorney Deepak Gupta called the ruling "unprecedented in American law." He added: "Never before has a U.S. court allowed someone who lost a case in another country to come to the U.S. to attack a foreign court's damages award. The decision hands well-heeled corporations a template for avoiding legal accountability anywhere in the world. And it throws the entire international judgment-enforcement framework out the window. We will be exploring all available options for further review."   read more

More and more states seek ways to help the richest Americans protect their wealth from creditors, divorcing spouses and tax collectors. The federal government leaves it to each state to draw up its own trust laws, and several have tried to go as far as they can without inciting accusations that they are abetting tax evasion. Yet many states hope to dip a spoon in the trillion-dollar-plus pot of cream that had traditionally been preserved in offshore tax havens like the Cayman Islands.   read more

The development of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense missile system began in 2002 with an initial goal of operational capability by late 2004. Today, the system has a pitiful test record and no demonstrated ability to stop an incoming missile. Ultimately, the taxpayer funded program has resulted in an excessive expenditure with no recorded operational capacity. Fifteen years and $40 billion later, we are left with an unreliable anti-ballistic missile system and a gaping hole in our pockets.   read more

The hallowed jury trial is a right enshrined in the Constitution and immortalized in American culture. But these days, said professor Richman, it's more a cultural concept than a regular happening.” Kaplan said: “It’s a loss... One thinks of justice being administered by juries of our peers." Jury trials were "a check against the potential abuse of the use of prosecutorial power,” said lawyer Hafetz. Now it's done "behind closed doors. It's hugely disappointing," said Judge Rakoff.   read more

The Libertarian and Green parties claimed the rules violate antitrust law. "With Gov. Johnson consistently polling in double-digits, we continue to believe that the CPD should make the right and fair decision to invite him to participate in the...debates," said Libertarian's Nielson. "There is clearly an unprecedented desire for alternatives to the Republican and Democratic nominees, and voters deserve an opportunity to see and hear that there are, in fact, other credible, serious choices."   read more

What would happen if the federal government ended its subsidies to companies that drill for oil and gas? Chances are, it wouldn’t do much. Metcalf’s conclusions suggest subsidies could be eliminated without causing much pain. And they could give some political muscle to those fighting climate change. They may not mobilize Republican politicians to join in the battle. But they help to undermine the case made by energy companies that drilling for fossil fuels merits federal support.   read more

The drones would look for questionable activity, scan faces of suspects and compare them against a database for prior criminal history. Drones already operate along the border but currently don't use facial recognition technology, which remains controversial. ``There can be questions about how accurate that is and legitimate questions about how someone's picture got into a database,'' said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. Donald Trump said he wants to expand drones' border use.   read more

Studies indicate the benefits of marijuana treatment could mean the difference between life and death in some instances, and even help control Medicare spending. Researchers concluded U.S. taxpayers could save more than $500 million a year in Medicare spending if medical marijuana was legal in every state. And states with medical marijuana laws had a 25% lower average annual opioid overdose death rate, while mortality rates improve each year after implementation of the laws.   read more

The CDC has repeatedly expressed concern that use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. CDC's Dr. Robert Tauxe said that research had demonstrated that antibiotic use in animals that produce food has a negative impact on public health. Five large U.S. poultry producers are reducing their reliance on antibiotics. But not Sanderson, which calls its competitors’ efforts a “marketing gimmick” aimed at charging higher prices.   read more

The plight of today's refugees is so politically contentious that after days of intense negotiations, the nations of the world have come up with virtually no concrete commitments to make their journeys any better or safer. Western European countries, along with Russia, resisted a pledge to resettle 10% of all the people fleeing war and persecution. And the U.S. balked at language that would have committed all countries to not detaining unauthorized children who arrive at their borders.   read more

"With surgical precision, North Carolina tried to eliminate voting practices disproportionately used by African-Americans. This ruling is a stinging rebuke of the state's attempt to undermine African-American voter participation, which had surged over the last decade," Ho said. Added attorney Riggs: "We applaud the appeals court for recognizing the discriminatory intent behind and effect wrought by the 2013 monster law." Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she was pleased with the ruling.   read more

A study by the Department of Health and Human Services found that improper billing still appears to be “relatively commonplace” because “some Medicare providers unlawfully bill enrollees” after receiving payments from Medicare and Medicaid. In some cases, the study said, beneficiaries “curtail their use of needed services due to concerns about their ability to pay.” Federal officials have warned doctors that they may be fined or excluded from Medicare if they persist in these practices.   read more

Smith, a Texas Republican who has received more than $687,000 in fossil fuel donations, made his hostility to the investigations known this month. Smith reportedly counts the oil and gas industry as his biggest lifetime donors and has used his science committee platform at every opportunity to try to discredit the scientific consensus on global warming. Smith called the ExxonMobil investigations "a form of extortion." Prosecutor Schneiderman called the subpoenas the work of "GOP extremists."   read more

This is the first time that a presidential candidate has openly asked a foreign power to meddle in the democratic process to his benefit. More than that, Trump seemed to be suggesting that Russia should violate U.S. law on his behalf. Were Russia to follow Trump’s suggestion, the foreign intervention into U.S. politics would be among the most severe of the past century. “This is unprecedented...[and] seems to be genuinely new in international relations,” said professor Musgrave.   read more