The panel concluded that disregard for poor and minority people contributed to the government’s slow response to complaints from residents of Flint about the foul water that was making them sick. The crisis “is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice," said the report. “I could not imagine this happening in an affluent community that was not a majority-minority community and the same reaction occurring," said Rep. Dan Kildee.   read more

Energy prices and the perceived abundance of energy sources seem to be the most relevant factors in attitudes toward nuclear power, rather than safety concerns prompted by nuclear incidents. Lower gas prices over the past year are likely driving greater opposition toward the use of nuclear power. As Americans have paid less at the pump, their level of worry about the nation's energy situation has dropped to 15-year-low levels.   read more

The House investigation into how some of the nation’s most prestigious universities acquire fetal tissue has prompted charges of intimidation and coercion, escalating a battle that some researchers fear could shut down studies seeking cures for Parkinson’s disease, the Zika virus and a host of other conditions. University officials fear that the release of the names sought by lawmakers could endanger lives if anti-abortion activists decide to target those involved in fetal tissue research.   read more

Consultants' techniques to discourage workers from forming unions have become more sophisticated — more akin to modern political campaigns than workplace discussions. “Decisions that workers make about whether to choose to stand together are often influenced by paid consultants, or persuaders, who are hired by employers to craft the management message being delivered to workers,” said Labor Secretary Perez. “About 75% of employers hire such persuaders, and too often, workers do not know.”   read more

Anxieties run higher among Republicans in large part because of the ferocious and at times juvenile nature of the insult-laden campaign, which has featured taunts over character and even manhood. About six in 10 Republican primary voters say the overall tone of their party’s nomination fight has been more negative than in past campaigns. And 60% of Republican primary voters said the campaign had made them feel mostly embarrassed about their party.   read more

Trump business associate Felix Sater pleaded guilty in a major Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme in the late 1990s. Even after learning about Sater's background, Trump tapped Sater for a business development role in 2010 that included the title of senior adviser to Trump, and had an office in the Trump headquarters. Sater's criminal past drew attention because of his ties to Trump. But legal disputes over Sater's efforts to cooperate with the government also raises questions about court secrecy.   read more

. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders has a favorability rating of +7, while Hillary Clinton has a rating of -13. On the Republican side, John Kasich has a favorability rating of +19, while Donald Trump has a rating of -39. Guess who are the frontrunners to win their party’s nominations?   read more

Testing turned up PFOA in drinking water in Petersburgh, N.Y., and N. Bennington, Vermont, which had plastics plants. Vermont officials said water testing in North Bennington yielded readings of up to 2,730 ppt. The Pentagon is checking for traces of PFOS in the water at 664 U.S. military sites. Michael Hickey, who exposed the contamination in Hoosick Falls, said "My father died of kidney cancer. My grandmother had kidney cancer. My concern isn't really about me; it's about my 5-year-old son."   read more

On March 19, 2016, the popular novelist Irving Wallace—my father—would have turned 100 years old. Instead of honoring my father by presenting a review of his achievements and recalling what a generous, warm-hearted person he was and how much enjoyment he brought to millions of readers around the world, I have decided to look at some of the developments he would have most appreciated if he had lived to be 100, instead of dying at the age of 74.   read more

"This is transcendental. We believe it's a huge gesture," said Marcos Pena, Argentina's Cabinet chief. The U.S. has previously released 4,000 State Dept documents related to that period. Notes from a 1976 meeting between Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Argentina's foreign minister seemed to show Kissinger urging his counterpart to clamp down on dissidents they referred to as "terrorists." "If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly," Kissinger said..   read more

Smith says Facebook uses the private health data it obtains to create marketing profiles for each user, and then targets them with tailored advertisements based on their private information. A person's health condition is the second most valuable piece of personal data sought after on the web behind login credentials and passwords, according to a 2015 study on web privacy and security cited in the complaint. Facebook earned nearly $11.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2014, says the suit.   read more

Sea levels are rapidly increasing, probably at the fastest rate in 28 centuries. Of the projected population at risk, nearly 50% will be in Florida, and an additional 20% in other parts of the southeastern U.S. In 30 different counties, more than 100,000 people would be at risk. None of the 22 coastal states in the continental U.S., as well as Washington, D.C., will be immune from the effects. The cost of relocating the 13.1 million people displaced by sea-level rise could be about $14 trillion.   read more

The decision represents a reversal of President Obama’s previous offshore drilling plans, and comes as he is trying to build an ambitious environmental legacy. It could also inject the issue into the 2016 presidential campaigns, as Republican candidates vow to expand drilling. Last January, Obama drew the wrath of environmentalists and high praise from the oil industry with his proposal that would have opened much of the southeastern Atlantic coast to offshore drilling for the first time.   read more

The Indonesia that Obama lived in as a child bore fresh scars from the darkest period in that country's modern history. Shortly before Obama's arrival in 1967, hundreds of thousands of people had been killed in a bloody anti-communist purge. Now Indonesian human rights officials want Obama's help. They are requesting the declassification of secret U.S. files that could shed light on how the killings were planned and the extent that the U.S. collaborated with Indonesia's military.   read more

Amid a budget crisis that has prompted deep cuts to state agencies across the state, death penalty opponents question the wisdom of Oklahoma leaders continuing to defend an increasingly expensive and problem-plagued policy of putting people to death. "It's painful to know how much money we're spending to kill people," said Adam Leathers. "It may or may not bring some people a degree of catharsis, we don't know, but it sure seems to be costing the taxpayers a lot of money."   read more

Trump supporters typically begin shouting, pointing, jeering — and sometimes pushing, kicking or spitting — at the protester, surrounding the offender in a tight circle. The moment that Nwanguma, who is black, held up her signs, Trump supporters ripped them away and began shoving her, screaming racial slurs and calling her “leftist scum." Protester Rakeem Jones was punched in the face by a Trump supporter. “He deserved it,” said the assailant, John McGraw. “Next time, we might have to kill him.”   read more