The Cayman Islands Agree To Help The U.S. Hunt Down Tax Cheats

The law that’s driven crackdowns on American tax evasion via Swiss bank accounts is coming to the Cayman Islands as well. Banks in the Caribbean archipelago will be subject to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) when the law goes into effect in mid-2014 under an agreement struck between the U.S. and Cayman governments in August.

American Workers Have Seen A ‘Lost Decade’ In Wage Growth

American workers have suffered a “lost decade” of stagnant or falling wages. Despite productivity gains of nearly 25 percent from 2000 to 2012, “wages were flat or declined for the entire bottom 60 percent” of the workforce, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

Most Students Of Color Fall Behind White Peers In College Readiness

According to new data, less than half of African-American, Hispanic, or Native American students met the ACT’s college readiness benchmark when taking the test in any subject area: English, reading, math, or science. African-American students were the least likely to meet all four: just 5 percent did, compared to a third of white students.

Top Conservative Pundit: If I Were Starting from Scratch, I Would Outlaw Alcohol and Allow Marijuana

“If I were starting a society from scratch, I would outlaw alcohol and allow marijuana,” conservative columnist and pundit Charles Krauthammer said on the O’Reilly Factor Tuesday.

More Louisiana Republicans Blame President Obama For Hurricane Katrina Response Than Bush

Timsomor Note:  Keep in mind this was 3 years before the man became President and was just elected as a Senator! 

According to a Public Policy Polling survey, 29 percent of Louisiana Republicans say President Obama is more to blame for the botched executive branch response to Hurricane Katrina while just 28 percent blamed George W. Bush. A plurality of 44 percent said they were unsure who was more responsible, even though Hurricane Katrina occurred over three years before Obama entered the presidency when he was still a freshman Senator.

Conquer Body Odor Naturally!

Body odor: It’s an embarrassing topic, but we’ve all been there at some point in time.

Body odor is a common problem. Commercial chemicals and artificial-scent sprays may be a temporary way to control body odor, but they often don’t address the underlying cause. And they certainly don’t always do so with your health in mind.

The Tesla Model S Is The Safest Car Ever Tested, And It’s Because It’s Electric

The electric car company Tesla Motors announced on Monday that one of its cars had received the highest safety rating ever awarded to a vehicle, and that it’s largely thanks to the fact that it’s an electric car.

Oil Billionaire Weighs In On Wind Turbines: ‘Once They’re There, They Haunt You’

Shale oil billionaire Harold Hamm said in an interview this week that clean energy doesn’t deserve federal subsidies in part because windmills are haunting to look at.

Why Utilities Are Afraid Of Rooftop Solar

The solar industry is booming across the U.S. and the numbers are staggering. Residential solar installations in 2012 reached 488 megawatts — a 62 percent increase over 2011 installations. And according to GTM Research, a solar photovoltaic (PV) system is now installed every four minutes in the U.S.

Regulator Wins First Admission Of Guilt From Financial Firm Since Policy Shift

A hedge fund manager who manipulated bond markets and misused investor funds has admitted his guilt and accepted a five-year ban from the securities industry. It is the first settlement to feature an admission of guilt since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in June that it would reexamine the common practice of so-called “neither admit nor deny” settlements.

How Changing Bankruptcy Laws For Student Loans Could Revitalize The Economy

By tweaking bankruptcy and student loan laws, Congress could neutralize one of the most harmful features of the growing load of student debt. A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) argues that bankruptcy should allow borrowers to get out from under loans that have unreasonable repayment terms or were borrowed to attend schools whose graduates struggle to find work.

Koch-Backed Group Rallies To Oppose Extending Health Care To Low-Income Virginians

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, sponsored a rally on Monday to stand up against extending Medicaid coverage to nearly 400,000 low-income Virginia residents. Hundreds of people gathered at the state capitol building during a meeting of the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission to oppose expanding the program under Obamacare.

The Remarkable Slowdown In Health Care Costs Since The Passage Of Obamacare

A new survey of health care premiums for employer-sponsored health care coverage shows that health care inflation is slowing, further undermining critics’ predictions that costs would skyrocket in the aftermath of the Affordable Care Act.

In Texas, Oil Is Big But Solar Is Cheap

Despite foot-dragging by the state’s leadership on solar policies, residential solar installation prices recently hit $3.90 per watt in Texas, lower than anywhere else in the nation. It’s part of a nationwide plunge in installation prices for the smaller systems — generally 10 kilowatts or less — used for individual homes. According to a new report out of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, that national price fell from around $12 per watt in 1998 to $5.30 per watt in 2012.

Domestic Violence Victims Face Choice Between Calling Police Or Staying In Housing

As cities and towns across the country adopt new “crime-free housing” ordinances, many domestic violence victims face the choice between calling the police on their abusers or getting evicted, as the New York Times reported over the weekend. That’s because landlords can kick out tenants who have a certain number of visits in many communities.

Court Blocks Pennsylvania Voter ID Law, As Six Other States Revive Their Own

For the third consecutive election, Pennsylvania’s controversial law requiring photo identification to vote will likely not apply, after a state court blocked the law again Friday. The court held once again that the law is arguably unconstitutional, and cannot be applied until a trial determines once and for all if the law is valid.

Nine Term North Carolina Senator Resigns To Fight New Voter Suppression Law

North Carolina state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird (D) announced today that she is resigning her seat in the state legislature after 17 years of service. Instead she will work full time to reverse the blizzard of right-wing legislation enacted by Republicans since they took over the state government last January. In a message posted on her website, Kinnaird wrote that a major focus of her post-legislative work will be “a grass-roots project to make sure everyone in the state has a proper voter ID so that no votes are denied, even though” a recently enacted voter suppression law “is aimed at exactly that – repressing the vote.” Kinnaird’s replacement will effectively be chosen by Democratic officials.

History on the “Black Statue of Liberty” (passionatespot.com)

The original statue of Liberty gifted by the French to America was not the stern-faced green Roman looking woman that you see today holding a tablet and a torch. The original and first Statue of Liberty was a Black woman holding the broken shackles of slavery. She was refused on the notion that the black statue would be a constant reminder of the liberty that the slaves earned, from successfully fighting in the American Civil War. The true Black Statue of Liberty remains rejected, forgotten and lost in broken fragments of Black history.

March on Washington was far from popular in 1963

As the 50th anniversary of the March on the Washington for Jobs and Freedom draws nearer, so does the nostalgia. In an effort to be on the right side of history, the naysayers and obstacles are often overlooked.

In a small Illinois town, a history of failed, ignored rape investigations and hundreds of untested rape kits

Rosa Pickett was 17 when she was raped in her hometown of Robbins, Il. on September 3, 1977.
 

She was walking to a party at night in the nearly all-black village of Robbins located in the Cook County region that also contains the mecca of Chicago. After being rescued by a stranger who found her in a ditch, he took her home. Her mother barely recognized Pickett’s face, which was swollen from receiving repeated punches during her assault.

White Is the New White

By:  Aura Bogado

Slave narratives became most fashionable among abolitionist circles in the mid-nineteenth century. These narratives remain deeply powerful, yet each one is framed by a white introduction, which authenticates the black experience. The white practice of verifying the lives of black fugitives who were skillfully plotting their own liberation has changed in circumstance and in medium—but the role of white people at its center has not. Today, its latest manifestation is playing out in the Netflix hit series, Orange Is the New Black.

Most Large Companies Fail To Comply With Rules About Diversity In Boardrooms

In 2010, new rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) went into effect that required companies to disclose information about the consideration of diversity when they select their boards, the first rules or regulations to directly address the dearth of women on corporate boards. But a forthcoming research note from Columbia Law School student Tamara Smallman finds that three years later, most companies are failing to comply. Meanwhile, diversity in boardrooms remains stagnant.

10 Ways Republicans Have Blown Their Own Minority Outreach Strategy

The Republican National Committee had what seemed like easy advice for the rest of the GOP after the 2012 election: Stop inflaming racism and expand the voter base beyond male, white America. After a disastrous few months since the RNC autopsy report, they tried again Thursday, with an event celebrating the “rising stars” in the Republican Party.

34 States Are Directly Funneling Money To Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ That Lie To Women

Well over half of the states in the country are directly funding “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs), right-wing groups that pose as nonpartisan health clinics while advocating for an anti-abortion agenda. According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, 34 states currently have policies that funnel money toward CPCs:

World’s Largest Correctional Association Calls For Elimination Of Mandatory Minimum Sentences

Last week, the conservative corporate-backed group that advanced Stand Your Ground laws reversed its previous support for mandatory minimum sentences and endorsed reform to curb their use. On Monday, the country’s top law enforcement official said he would order all of his prosecutors to avert mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders.

Snipe Hunting GOP Style: Exactly Zero Of The 17 Suspected Voter Fraud Cases In Boulder, CO Exist

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler (R) announced last month that he had found a whopping 155 possible illegal voters in his review of the November 2012 election — out of the more than 3,050,578 voters in the Centennial State. But a review by a Boulder County prosecutor found that of the 17 names from his county that were forwarded by the “election fraud” crusader, every single one of them was a verifiable U.S. citizen.

The Cost Of Raising A Child In America: $241,080

The costs of raising a child from birth to age 17, including housing, food, clothing, health care, education, and other expenses, will come to $241,080 for a child born in 2012, up 2.6 percent from the year before, according to new data released by the Department of Agriculture. The annual cost for a child in a middle-income, two-parent family ranges from $12,600 to $14,700.

No, Lending To Poor People Did Not Cause The Financial Crisis

Despite the multiple times the right wing’s arguments have been debunked, they are once again repeating the false narrative that the financial crisis was caused by government policy and lending to low-income borrowers. The latest to weigh in is former-Senator Phil Gramm. On the Wall Street Journal op-ed page, he trots out the idea that government regulators used the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to force banks to make loans to undeserving poor people and that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased doomed subprime mortgage backed securities to meet the affordable housing goals. This, he says, was the main cause of the crisis. But this idea has been thoroughly discredited.

Even Many White-Collar Jobs Won’t Pay The Rent

In many major metropolitan areas, being an urban planner or a bank teller is not enough to secure a comfortable living, according to new data comparing earnings with housing costs.

This Restaurant Banned Tipping And Made More Money

Jay Porter, the founder of Linkery (previously of San Diego but currently closed to move to San Francisco), eliminated tipping in the restaurant’s second year, instead applying an automatic 18 percent charge for service to all dine-in checks. Writing in Quartz, he explains that the move brought in more money. “Our service improved, our revenue went up, and both our business and our employees made more money,” he says.

Achievement Gap Widens For Native American Students Amid Progress For Other Groups

Native American students, including American Indians and Alaska Natives, have seen virtually no improvement in their academic achievement gap at the same time that other minority groups have experienced improvements, a new report from The Education Trust finds. The gap between these students and white students has actually widened.

Three Republicans Who Opposed Sandy Relief Now Demand Disaster Aid For Arizona

Arizona Republicans Sen. Jeff Flake, Sen. John McCain, and Rep. Paul Gosar all voted against emergency relief funding after SuperStorm Sandy ravaged much of the New Jersey and New York area earlier this year. Now, following an Arizona wildfire, the same trio is vocally complaining that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not doing enough to aid their state.

What Western Superhero Stories Could Learn From ‘Burka Avenger,’ A Pakistani Superheroine

We’ve been seeing trailers for a while now for Burka Avenger, a Pakistani children’s cartoon about a young female teacher named Jiya who turns a burka into a superhero costume, and for whom books and pens are both mental and literal weapons. Now, we finally get to see the first episode:

‘Breaking Bad’ Recap: Blood Money

Post discusses the August 11 episode of Breaking Bad.

In this ninth episode of Breaking Bad’s final season, it’s often hard to see Walt directly. Hank, after his ill-fated browse through Leaves of Grass walks down stairs to meet his brother-in-law newly enlightened, but before the speak, Hank can’t help but see Walt in the warm light of an Albuquerque afternoon, his image gentled both by his young daughter in his arms, and the gauzy curtain that falls between the two men. The juxtaposition between that image and what Hank believes to be the reality, the glimpse he’s caught of what’s really behind curtains that remained opaque to him for so long, is enough to throw the rest of the world out of focus for Hank, who like Tony Soprano before him, has a panic attack.

The Ninth Doctor, The Tyranny Of Conformity, And The Future Of ‘Doctor Who’

“It’s a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you’re going to end up with.” -The Doctor

It’s summertime, which means it’s the perfect occasion to do things like introduce one’s significant other to Doctor Who, starting with the rather nifty arc of the Ninth Doctor, played with melancholy charm by Christopher Eccleston, and overseen by Russell T. Davies. And when we came to the end of “The Parting Of The Ways,” the climactic episode in which the Doctor sacrifices his ninth incarnation to save Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), the shopgirl turned galactic traveler who seized his offer of a different kind of life and endangered herself to keep the example he set for herself alive, I realized precisely why I was so disappointed by the selection of another white guy as the Twelfth Doctor, and showrunner Steven Moffat’s comment to those who would have liked to see a female Doctor that “I would like to go on record and say that the Queen should be played by a man,” a slap at Helen Mirren’s expression of interest in the role.

5 Eye Opening Findings From The Federal Ruling That Held NYPD Racially Profiles

On Monday, the New York Police Department’s aggressive approach to stop-and-frisks took a major blow, with federal judge Shira Scheindlin’s ruling that the Department engages in unconstitutional racial profiling. The decision incorporates statistics showing that 87 percent of those stopped in 2011 were black or Hispanic, and testimony from more than 100 witnesses in reaching a number of alarming factual and legal conclusions about the sweeping, discriminatory, and insidious nature of NYPD stop-and-frisks:

Republicans In Arizona Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan

Unhappy that an independent redistricting commission devised maps it deemed too independent for the 2012 elections, Arizona Republicans are already scheming to rig the redistricting process after the 2020 elections to be more favorable to their party.

92-Year-Old Who Once Faced Literacy Tests Sues North Carolina Over New Wave Of Voter Suppression

When Rosanell Eaton was 21 years old and living in segregated North Carolina, she became one of the first African Americans in her county registered to vote, after successfully completing a literacy test that required her to recite the preamble to the Constitution. But now, at 92 years old, she faces new obstacles under the voter suppression law signed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) Monday. For one thing, she may not qualify for the voter ID card required under the new law, because the name on her birth certificate is different from the name on her driver’s license and voter registration card. Reconciling this difference will be a costly and time-consuming administrative endeavor. For another, she has participated in early voting since it was instituted in the state. Now, it’s been cut back a week.

New Fraud Evidence Shows Trillions Of Dollars In Mortgages Have No Owner

Thanks to forged documents, banks can’t prove that they own trillions of dollars in mortgages, according to recently unsealed court documents relating to a lawsuit the government decided to settle out of court for $95 million in 2012. The evidence gathered by Lynn Szymoniak, a Florida resident who fought off a wrongful foreclosure after three years of legal wrangling, could invalidate ownership claims to the homes in question. Yet foreclosures based on these documents continue to be approved.

Unpaid Senate Intern Uses Crowdfunding To Subsidize Internship

Crowdfunding has been used to launch all kinds of projects, from films, to struggling independent bookstores, to the world’s largest Rubik’s cube. But now, an intern for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is using it to fund something a little more basic: her unpaid internship.

It Keeps Getting Cheaper To Install Solar Panels In The U.S.

Americans who want to install solar panels on their houses are having to pay less than ever before, a new report has found.

The Worst Prisons on Earth....(From Likes)

#20 Diyarbakır Prison

Diyarbakir Prison in southeastern Turkey was built in 1980. Since then it has imprisoned many of that nation's most violent criminals which is why it is one of the worst in the world. This prison is known for dishing out not just physical torture to it's inmates but mental as well. The are two sections within the facility; the E-Type which has a capacity of 744 prisoners and the D-Type with a 688 capacity however both currently hold more than it should.

Florida woman shot at Starbucks by friend who forgot gun was in her purse

Police say a loaded handgun in a Florida woman’s purse accidentally discharged when she dropped it in a St. Petersberg’s Starbucks on Saturday. The bullet from 51-year-old Pamela Beck’s gun struck her friend, 38-year-old Amie Peterson, above the knee. The wound was not serious and Peterson was released from the hospital late Saturday night.

Dying Teen Is Being Denied A Heart Transplant Because He’s Had Trouble With The Law

Fifteen-year-old Anthony Stokes has less than six months to live unless he receives an emergency heart transplant. But his family has been told that Anthony doesn’t qualify for the transplant list because he has a “history of non-compliance” — partly due to his history of earning low grades and having some trouble with the law.

Henrietta Lacks: Justice Comes Too Little, Too Late For This Black Woman (Seriously This is "Just Us" not "Justice")

NEW YORK — Some 60 years ago, a doctor in Baltimore removed cancer cells from a poor black patient named Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge or consent. Those cells eventually helped lead to a multitude of medical treatments and laid the groundwork for the multibillion-dollar biotech industry.

The Massive Demand For Solar In Asia Shows Us Where The Industry Is Headed

This year’s second quarter saw a massive surge in solar panel shipments, with three of the four largest manufacturers outdoing projections by as much as 32 percent, Bloomberg reports. Much of that was due to rising demand in Asia, where China and Japan could soon make up half the global demand for solar — with China in particular planning to double its solar capacity to about 10 gigawatts this year, and increase it by five times by 2015. According to Stefan Linder, an analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), that swelling demand should soak up much of the oversupply solar manufacturers were recently struggling under. At the end of July, BNEF reported recovering solar stocks as well.

How Global Warming Is Affecting 16 Of Most People's Favorite Things

When people talk about “climate impacts,” the images that usually come to mind are broiling heat waves, drought-parched creek beds, dangerous storm surges, the slowly-but-surely rising sea. These things can seem distant and unlikely to affect most people’s day-to-day lives, but there is growing evidence that the reality of climate change will strike close to home.

How Two Reservoirs Have Become Billboards For What Climate Change Is Doing To The American West

This week, to see how climate change will pull a nasty water surprise on the desert Southwest, you only need to look at one river.

How One Congressman’s Bizarre Reading Of The Constitution Would Literally Cause Miners To Drop Dead

If Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) has his way, America will return to an era when workers routinely died on the job and federal officials were powerless to do anything to stop these deaths. At least, that’s the implication of a novel interpretation of the Constitution Mullin offered at a town hall meeting last week in Afton, Oklahoma — the same town hall where he came out as a birther.

Missouri State Fair Apologizes After Announcer Mocks, Threatens Rodeo Clown In An Obama Mask

Officials from the Missouri State Fair are busy putting out fires after the organizers of the fair’s bull riding exhibit brought a clown in an Obama mask into the ring and goaded the bull into chasing him around the enclosure.

Judge Declares Baby’s Name Unchristian; Orders Parents To Change It

Tennessee child support magistrate Lu Ann Ballew unilaterally decided to rename a seven-month-old boy “Martin” because she objected to the parents’ selection of “Messiah.” Her reasoning, she explained, was that, “The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ.”

U.S. Attorney General To Ease Impact Of Harsh Drug Sentencing Laws

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce a major shift in prosecution of federal drug crimes Monday, recognizing the injustice of draconian mandatory minimum sentences, and an exploding federal prison population.

Sean Hannity and His Two ‘Black’ Friends Are Mad At Oprah (Newsone)

By: Michael Arceneaux

Sean Hannity’s expressed hurt feelings over comments Oprah Winfrey made about the George Zimmerman trial and Trayvon Martin.

Pictures of an Amazing Bride with Vitiligo goes viral!

Usually videos go viral. You know the ones that feature a couple’s unique first dance, an adorable baby doing something extraordinary or a well-planned marriage proposal. Photos don’t go viral as often, but over the last few weeks a beautiful wedding photo has done just that. This photo belongs to Nicole and Brandon Wylie, who recently celebrated their 6th year wedding anniversary.

Obama signs student loan deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a measure restoring lower interest rates for student loans, pledging the hard-fought compromise would be just the first step in a broader, concerted fight to rein in the costs of a college education.

Please Mark Your Calendar For These Must See PBS Documentaries This Fall

PBS may enjoy touting their ratings thanks to the runaway success of shows like Downton Abbey. But while their other programming may not have the sexy frisson of seeing Lady Mary and Cousin Matthew finally get over themselves and admit they’re nuts about each other, PBS also boasts an incredibly strong lineup of documentary and documentary series this fall. If you’re craving a deep dive into the relative advantages of shooting on film or digital, the first American Masters to focus on a sports figure, or the best documentary about a an after-school activity you’ll ever see, you should mark your calendar for these ten films and series, coming soon to a PBS station near you.

FCC Agrees To Cap Exorbitant Prison Phone Rates

After a protracted battle to end inordinate charges for phone calls from prison that exceeded $17 for a 15-minute phone, the Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to cap the rate for interstate calls at 25 cents per minutes, meaning 15-minute calls could no longer cost more than $3.25.

The Fashion Industry’s Race Problem: Models Of Color Rarely Get Hired

The fashion industry got a wake up call on race five years ago amid complaints that many shows and magazines only featured white models. In response, Vogue published a long article on race in fashion, Italian Vogue published an issue with only black models, and a series of panel discussions were held on the topic. There was a “notable increase” in the hiring of black models, the New York Times reports. But today they still face low odds of being hired in the fashion industry – and things have gotten even worse.

Congressman Claims Widespread Fraud Because He Saw ‘Physically Fit’ Couple Use Food Stamps

At a town hall in Welch, OK on Thursday, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) called for the outright elimination of aid programs for low-income Americans, claiming that he has witnessed food stamp fraud firsthand. Mullin said he would like to “do away with a lot of these programs” because they allow people to slack off.

The Company With Lower Prices And Better Benefits Than Walmart

WinCo, a small, employee-owned grocery store chain based in Boise, Idaho, is able to beat Walmart’s prices on goods while providing its employees with good benefits.

PBS Series Looks Back At 5 Centuries Of Black History

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — After a tragedy like the Trayvon Martin killing, calls routinely arise for a conversation about race.But Henry Louis Gates thinks the more direct way for structural change is through schools and their curriculum.

Reuters poll: 40 percent of whites have no friends outside their race

NBC News – A new poll on whether American relationships are segregated found 40 percent of whites and 25 percent of non-whites do not have any close friends of other races.

‘I don’t support changing one damn comma’: Gop Rep on The Stand Your Ground Law

Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach), the Florida representative tasked with chairing the “Stand Your Ground” hearings, said he doesn’t “support changing one damn comma” of the law.

Reformed Bank Robber Scores Coveted Federal Judicial Clerkship (I want to be judged like this in my job search)

Fifteen years ago, Shon Hopwood walked out of a Nebraska bank with a pile of money he’d just taken at gunpoint. Ten years later, he completed his sentence in a federal prison having achieved something few lawyers ever accomplish — convincing the Supreme Court to hear a prisoner’s case and then winning the case by a 9-0 vote. Next year, he will walk into a federal courthouse to sit at the right hand of one of the most powerful judges in the country.

NYPD Agrees To Purge Names Of Those Stopped And Frisked

The New York Police Department will erase hundreds of thousands of names and addresses it has collected of those stopped and frisked, in a settlement announced Wednesday.

Nearly 80 Percent Of Students Work While In School

A new survey from Citigroup and Seventeen magazine finds that almost 80 percent of students take at least a part-time job during the school year.

Greek Unemployment Hits Another Record High

The unemployment rate in Greece was 27.6 percent in May, marking yet another record high for the country. That figure is up from 26.9 percent in April, which was also a record, but even that number has now been revised up to 27 percent. The country’s rate is more than double the average rate across the euro zone.

The Majority Of Fast Food Workers Are Not Teenagers, Report Finds

In April of this year, Andrew Moesel, a representative of the New York Restaurant Association, went onto MSNBC’s Up With Chris Hayes to argue that low-wage fast food jobs are just an entry level starting point for American workers. “The restaurant industry is a launching pad,” Moesel said. “And, yes, there are some low wage jobs, entry level jobs for young people and others, but it actually creates an opportunity for people to go on and live the American dream.”

Being Unemployed For Over Nine Months Is The Same As Losing Four Years Of Experience

There is reason to believe that the long-term unemployed face discrimination when they try to get a job. Now some Swedish economists have tried to quantify exactly what that penalty looks like. They found that for someone applying for a medium or low-skill job after being jobless for more than nine months, interview requests drop by 20 percent, which is about the same as losing four years of work experience from their resumes. While the research was conducted in Sweden, the authors argue that they likely apply to the U.S., which has a somewhat similar job market.

Minority-Owned Small Businesses Get Stiffed On Federal Contracts

Of the $98.2 billion in federal government contracts awarded to small businesses last year, minority-owned businesses got a proportionally small slice of the pie, according to Bloomberg News. Hispanic-owned companies netted just 8.4 percent of that total, or $8.21 billion, despite making up 17 percent of the population. Businesses owned by black Americans won about 7.2 percent, or $7.1 billion, even though they are 13 percent of the population.

Asia’s Biggest Retailer Signs Bangladesh Safety Upgrade Plan

Fast Retailing Co Ltd, the biggest retailer in Asia and the owner of Uniqlo, signed the Europe-led and union-backed safety upgrade plan for Bangladesh’s garment factories.

Voters Confront Congressman For Trying To Repeal Obamacare: ‘We’ve Got To Have It’

In Washington, D.C., Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) issues countless press releases boasting about his votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, insisting that his constituents in North Carolina are clamoring for relief from the law. But during a town hall in Swannanoa on Wednesday, voters confronted the five-term Congressman with an entirely different sentiment: they demanded to know why Republicans would take away the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions without offering any credible other alternative for reforming the health care system. One grieving mother, who spoke to reporters before the event, said that her son was denied insurance because of a pre-existing health condition and eventually died of colon cancer.

Corporations Are The Ones Deciding Whether The Additives They Put In Your Food Are Safe

Public health advocates have long been waging a war against the food industry for its rampant overuse of salt, sugar, fat, and other additives that can harm Americans’ health when consumed in excess. That’s largely due to the conflicts of interest in America’s food regulation system. A new analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine finds that food and beverage corporations have “undue influence” in determining if the substances they put in food are actually safe.

After Decades Of Trying, Researchers Are Finally Getting Closer To A Malaria Vaccine

U.S. researchers say they’ve successfully tested a malaria vaccine on a small group of people, an important breakthrough in the effort to develop a vaccine that can be used on a wide scale. There’s currently no vaccination against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that kills about one million people each year — mostly children — and sickens more than 200 million.

Virginia’s Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Caught On Tape Lying To Women

An new undercover investigation into Virginia’s right-wing “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) exposes the blatant misinformation about women’s health, as well as the shame-based messages surrounding sexuality, that their employees typically impart to patients. NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia — which has been working for years to expose the dozens of CPCs in the state — caught the lies on tape and released their findings on Wednesday.

No Homicide Charges For Teen Who Shot And Killed A Man With An Illegal Gun, Thanks To Stand Your Ground

Florida prosecutors said Tuesday they would not file homicide charges against a 17-year-old who fatally shot a community choir director in the face, citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law.

These 6 States Want To Allow Health Insurers To Deny Coverage To Sick People

Officials in Texas and five other GOP-led states are refusing to oversee even Obamacare’s most basic — and popular — consumer protections and insurance market reforms. That includes the law’s ban on denying coverage or charging more because of a pre-existing condition and discriminating against women on the basis of gender. The decision could present major hurdles to Americans who buy health insurance through federally-run marketplaces in the Lone Star State, Arizona, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Jazz Legend George Duke Passes

GEORGE DUKE, a GRAMMY-Award winning composer, arranger, producer and keyboardist has passed. He succombed to chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Anti-Obama Arizona protest turns racist (Seriously, I bet there were a few who woke up feeling that way even before they got there!)

A protest against an appearance by President Barack Obama in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday was marked by several instances of racist language directed at Obama, the Arizona Republic reported.

Coney Island’s Jackie Robinson statue defaced with ‘die n*gger’ and swastikas

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) hate crimes task force launched an investigation on Wednesday after a statue of African-American baseball player Jackie Robinson was vandalized with a racial slur and other graffiti.

The FLOTUS had a vision: Obesity declining among low-income preschoolers in some states

The fight against childhood obesity is beginning to show results, say government researchers.

After rising for decades and then stabilizing somewhat in the mid-2000s, the obesity rate among low-income preschoolers declined by small but statistically significant amounts in 19 states and U.S. territories between 2008 and 2011, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday.

Florida allows researchers to exhume bodies from secret graveyards

The notorious reform school Arthur G. Dozier in Florida underwent deep scrutiny late last year after 19 grave shafts were discovered on the school’s grounds.

A Debt-Free College Education (The Nation)

By:

Katrina vanden Heuvel 

Last Wednesday—almost a month after Congress failed to prevent student loan rates from doubling—Democrats and Republicans reached a compromise that will keep rates low, at least temporarily, for most graduates.

Prison Attorneys Claim 14-Year-Old Inmate Wanted To Get Raped By Her 40-Year-Old Prison Guard

A Louisiana parish is trying to get out of paying a 14-year-old who was repeatedly raped by her prison guard, with lawyers arguing last week that the girl wanted the sex.

Why Young Women Are Still Using The Outdated ‘Withdrawal’ Method To Try To Prevent Pregnancy

About one-third of young women are relying on the “withdrawal” method — trusting their male partner to pull out before ejaculation — in order to avoid pregnancy, according to new research that will be published in an upcoming issue of the Obstetrics & Gynocology journal. Those women are opting to use that old-fashioned method even though it’s much less reliable than other forms of birth control.

America Still Isn’t Rid Of The White Economic Supremacy That Drove The March On Washington

When Americans talk about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington, they often neglect to say the event’s title in full: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Senators Take Action On Postal Service’s Congressionally Induced Woes

Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced a bill in the Senate that seeks to save the Postal Service from financial collapse by restructuring the needless requirement that the agency pre-fund 75 years’ worth of employee health benefits, a requirement no other businesses or institutions face. The bill would also allow for a gradual end to Saturday mail service if financially necessary, as well as general door-to-door service, but would not mandate either steps.

Republicans Do Damage Control On Their Party’s Vow To Shut Down The Government

After 40 failed votes to repeal Obamacare, several Republicans are threatening anew to block government funding unless the health reform law gets defunded. This threat is nothing new; Republicans have repeatedly demanded that every appropriations bill include a provision to repeal Obamacare since the law was passed. Tea Party lawmakers in 2011 emphasized how dire the situation was, calling for a “blood oath” to “choke Obamacare.”

Obama On Jay Leno: President Discusses Embassy Closures, NSA Surveillance On Tonight Show

BURBANK, Calif. -- President Barack Obama says the threat of an imminent terrorist attack against Americans is, in his words, "significant enough that we're taking every precaution."

September Issue's of Ebony will include Several 'Trayvon' Covers with: The Martins, Spike Lee, Boris Kodjoe, Dwyane Wade and Their sons.

Ebony magazine is doing its part to honor the life of Trayvon Martin; to keep the conversation about race in America alive; and to explore “Stand Your Ground” laws with a special edition of its September issue.

Everything You Need To Know About President Obama’s Housing Speech

President Obama will present a plan for reforming the housing market in a speech Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona. The inner workings of housing finance are complicated, and how the market is reformed will be crucial to the country’s economic future. In particular, the future of so-called “government-sponsored entities” (GSEs) has serious implications for housing policy, availability, and affordability.

The Majority Of New York’s Care Workers Earn Poverty Wages

Over 90 percent of domestic workers and 60 percent of home care workers in New York City earn less than $25,000 a year, according to a new report from the Alliance for a Greater New York. Even worse, nearly 40 percent of domestic workers and 30 percent of home care workers earn less than $15,000.

WebMD Launches An Online Guide To Teach Americans About Obamacare

Confused about Obamacare? Want to know more about your insurance options before open enrollment in October? Don’t even know what “open enrollment” means? The largest online health website in the country, WebMD, wants to help answer your questions.

As Support For Legalization Doubled, Rate Of Young Adults Who Have Tried Marijuana Dropped 36 Percent

The rate of Americans who say they’ve tried marijuana has increased only slightly since the 1980s from 33 to 38 percent, even as the rate of support for marijuana legalization has doubled and medical marijuana has become legal in 20 states, according to a new Gallup poll. Among young adults ages 18 to 29, those who reported trying marijuana has taken a major dip in that period, from 56 percent in 1985 to 36 percent in 2013 (a drop of 36 percent):

Mostly-White Ohio Suburb Fighting To Prevent Mostly-Black Bus-Riders From Entering Community

A lily-white Ohio suburb is doing everything it can, including risking millions in federal highway funding, to keep mostly minority bus-riders from a nearby city from entering their community.

Marissa Alexander case: Will there be a pardon?

In the wake of the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, there has been a renewed interest in repealing “stand your ground” laws in the state of Florida.

Voting Rights Act in Danger On It's 48th Anniversary

“Today is a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any battlefield,” President Lyndon Johnson said on August 6, 1965, when he signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

Three Ways Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Could Improve The Washington Post Now That He Owns It

Much of the coverage of the surprise announcement that Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos has purchased the Washington Post for $250 million has focused on what worrisome changes the tech mogul might make to one of the country’s flagship political publications. But it strikes me as relatively futile to read the tea leaves of Bezos’ minimal political contributions and his company’s political priorities, much less his reassuring public statements. The truth is, the Washington Post could be a stronger paper than in is presently, and rather than trying to predict what changes Bezos might make from his geographically distant perch, I think it’s worth focusing on what the Post could do better. Whether Bezos wants to do a department-by-department audit is up to him. But I think these are three opportunities presented by the transfer of the paper from the Graham family to Bezos that could take advantage of Bezos’ strengths and the particular weaknesses of the current ownership:

12 Years After The ‘Bin Laden Determined To Strike In U.S.’ Memo, What Is The Terror Threat?

Tuesday marks the 12th anniversary of the day that President George W. Bush received the infamous Presidential Daily Briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” As embassy officials are warned to flee Yemen today due to a terrorist threat, it is renewing a debate and discussion about just what the terrorist threat against the U.S. entails following bin Laden’s death — and what it means for America’s struggle to combat terror.

Philly Neighborhood Freaks Out After Restaurant Changes Its Racist Name

Philly residents apparently preferred a neighborhood restaurant when it was named after a racial slur. For 64 years, the sign “Chink’s Steaks” hung overhead the steak shop, but in March the owner Joe Groh decided it was finally time to drop it in favor of “Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop.” The original name came from the founder of the steak shop, Sam Sherman, who was called “chink” as a kid because he had “almond eyes.”

STUDY: Even When Abortion Inspires Mixed Emotions, Women Say It Was The Right Decision For Them

New research from the University of California, San Francisco finds that one week after having an abortion, the vast majority of women report feeling relief. Many of the women who participated in the study reported some negative emotions accompanying their abortion procedure — but that didn’t mean they considered it to be the wrong decision.

Massachusetts Residents Have Had Health Care Reform For Seven Years Now And Like It, So Why Wouldn't Everyone Else?

Massachusetts residents have been living with former Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R) signature health care reform law — widely acknowledged as the inspiration for Obamacare — since 2006. And according to a new poll conducted by the statewide physician group Massachusetts Medical Society, the vast majority of them are happy with their health care nearly a decade after Romneycare’s implementation.

Wisconsin Will Become The First State To Post Statistics On Prison Rape Online

Wisconsin will become the first state to post its prison sexual assault statistics online. Marion Morgan of the state’s Department of Corrections told Wisconsin Public Radio that making this information widely available could help change public attitudes on sexual assault by drawing attention to an issue that is often hidden from view.

Public Schools Slash Arts Education And Turn To Private Funding

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) dealt a blow to arts education when it laid off over 1,000 teachers as a result of its recent decision to close over 50 schools. Among the most affected areas was arts education–nearly 10 percent of teachers let go taught art or music.

How Ending Rule That Penalizes Low-Income Women For Having Kids Is A Good Thing For California

California is considering the removal of a limit in its welfare program that penalizes low-income mothers. Most programs determine benefits based on family size, with more money to support parents with more children. Yet the Maximum Family Grant rule in the CalWORKs program, which distributes TANF benefits, was adopted in 1994 and denies extra money for a new child if any member of the household is already receiving aid. In essence, it penalizes women who decide to have children while relying on the program.

One In Eight Student Loan Borrowers Is In Default

6.5 million Americans are in default on their student loans, roughly one in every eight who have borrowed for their education through the federal government. That is nearly triple the default rate from a decade ago.

Can McDonalds Make A Profit While Paying $15 An Hour?

While the average McDonalds employee in the United States makes just above the $7.25 minimum wage, that story is different in other countries. As Jordan Weissmann reports at The Atlantic, the minimum wage for full-time adult workers in Australia is $14.50 and McDonalds employees just negotiated a 15 percent raise by 2016. Yet the company has about 900 locations in the country.

Chevy Slashes Price Of Volt By $5,000 To Stay Competitive In Electric Vehicle Market

In the latest move to make electric vehicles more consumer-friendly, Chevrolet announced it will cut the price of its 2014 Volt by $5,000. The decision comes as Chevy works to keep pace with its chief competitors in the electric vehicle market — Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf — which are both less expensive and better selling.

Why Habitat For Humanity’s Newest Homeowner Might Never Pay An Electricity Bill

It’s a heavy, hot, July evening in Washington, D.C.

Ominous storm clouds, bloated with rain, hang oppressively low and there’s an eerie green glow around the corners of everything. Lakiya Culley has just gotten home from work and her three boys Kamari, Christopher and Carl — aged two to seven — are trying to play basketball in the living room without getting into trouble and now and then circling nonchalantly around the kitchen counter, eying the yet uncut chocolate cake.

Bumpy Johnson: 8 Facts About The Legendary Harlem Druglord

Bumpy Johnson is a name that carries weight and the burden of a crime-filled legacy. We’ve seen our favorite actors portray him in movies about notorious drug lords, but do you know who Bumpy Johnson is?
Here’s 8 facts about the Harlem heroin-hustler that you probably did not know:

Supreme Court Greenlights Execution Of Mentally Ill Man In Florida

In a brief order Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court announced it would not intervene in Florida’s plan to execute mentally ill inmate John Errol Ferguson at 6pm the same day. The order does not explain the Court’s rationale, providing simply that “[t]he application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied.”

Going Down In Texas: Texas Police Pull Over Three Women And Search Their Vaginas For Marijuana

A pair of videos posted online show police probing the genitals and anal regions of three women they claim to suspect of possessing marijuana. In one video, a woman is seen bent over and grimacing as an off camera police officer conducts the search. Shortly before this search, a male officer explains to the woman that he is calling a female officer over “because I ain’t about to get up close and personal with your woman areas.”

Solar Could Provide One-Third Of The Western U.S.’s Power Needs By 2050

Solar power could supply one-third of the West’s power needs by 2050 if federal cost-reduction targets are met and the region adopts reasonable carbon policies, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

Nelson Mandela mistakenly given non-payment notice (Damn, you would have believed this was in Baltimore!)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The city of Johannesburg has apologized for a mix up over a warning notice it delivered to the house of Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who is critically ill in a hospital.

The First lady Talks President Obama On His Birthday

President Barack Obama celebrated his 52nd birthday on Sunday and it set off a social media frenzy after millions shared their well wishes via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

5 Egregious Ways Police Are Seizing Property From Those Never Accused Of A Crime

As law enforcement officers continue to ramp up use of a controversial practice known as civil forfeiture, police are seizing cash, cars, houses, and other assets in the name of drug enforcement without ever having arrested or charged their owners with a crime. Funds collected from these seizures frequently go directly back into law enforcement, creating a dangerous profit incentive for police and other law enforcers. Both the New Yorker and ProPublica have new investigations of this practice, in which officers seize property they believe is connected to drug or other illicit activity, with a much lower burden of proof than when charges are filed against a person. Below are five of the most egregious incidents to emerge from these reports.

In Some Deeply Red States, Figuring Out How To Enroll In Obamacare Is Like ‘Searching For A Unicorn’

In just under two months, Obamacare’s health insurance marketplaces will open for enrollment, and low-income Americans will be able to apply for subsidies to purchase the newly-created health care plans. As that deadline approaches, many states have been busy launching public awareness campaigns so their residents will know how to gain access to Obamacare coverage in the fall. But that’s not necessarily the case in deeply red states that remain stubbornly resistant to President Obama’s health reform law, where Americans may not have any idea what their options are in October.

Senators Seek To End Taxpayer Subsidy For Exorbitant CEO Pay

With executive compensation at record highs, two senators are trying to end a government subsidy of performance-driven executive pay schemes that cost taxpayers $5 billion per year. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) proposed a bill Friday that would limit the amount of performance-based pay that can be written off as a tax deduction and bring in $50 billion in tax revenue over a decade.

Read This Before You Believe The Obamacare Premium Spike Hysteria

While some states are reporting lower than expected health care premiums in the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act, a growing number of Republican-controlled states — like South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Florida and Georgia — are garnering screaming headlines about huge premium spikes under the law.

Congressman Offers Crack Political Advice To Boehner: Attack Obamacare’s Tanning Tax As Racist

Obamacare’s 10% tax on tanning bed services is racist against white people because darker-skinned people don’t need to tan. At least, that’s what Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) advised Speaker John Boehner to claim in order to turn people against the Affordable Care Act.

The Monsterization of Trayvon Martin

There was a small, crystalline window of time, as I sat waiting for the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, when it felt as though we were perched between two worlds of possibility. As I watched the media blare, there was a breathless, swooping, nearly operatic transport to the moment; pundits recapitulated all the reasons to be afraid, very afraid. Anticipating acquittal, they eagerly imagined crescendos of erupting terror, riot and civil collapse. Florida was under lockdown. Magical legions of hydra-headed Trayvon Martin–shaped “thug wannabes” were assembling at the edges of the badlands.

Ted Nugent: Trayvon Martin Got What He Deserved

Ted Nugent, the 80’s rocker who has found a second career as right-wing flame thrower, appeared on a talk radio show in Maine on Saturday and said that Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17 year old black Florida teen who was shot and killed last year, deserved his fate.

FX Plans To Roll Out FXNow, Its Own HBO Go-Like App, In November

Last summer, at the Television Critics Association press tour, John Landgraf, the president of FX, asked some questions about Netflix and the actual size of its viewership that have since proved prescient, given the Emmy recognition for House of Cards and the rave reviews for Orange Is The New Black. “I have enormous respect for Ted Sarandos and for Netflix, but I couldn’t tell you how many people watched Lilyhammer or any show on their air,” Landgraf said at the time. “I don’t know if it’s 10,000 people a week, a million people a week, or 10 million people a week. I literally don’t know, and since they have those data, why not ask them to give you the data?”

FDA Finally Issues Rules To Standardize ‘Gluten-Free’ Labeling

After nearly a decade of delays, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday finally issued rules defining what “gluten-free” means for the purposes of food labeling. That means that within one year, consumers — especially those suffering from conditions that don’t allow them to eat gluten — can rest assured that any foods on grocery store shelves that claim to be gluten-free will meet a standardized, national definition.

Australian Activist Fight The Multi-Billion Dollar Natural Gas Industries Overabundance Down Under

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — One year ago, I flew over West Texas in a small prop plane observing a landscape pockmarked with caliche drill pads and freshly plodded access roads. This July, I did the same thing halfway around the world and the view was remarkably similar. From the window of a chartered flight from Brisbane, Queensland, midway up Australia’s east coast, to a small town 160 miles inland, I saw large exposed pools of water used for extracting gas, sprawling industrial sites, a coal mine, and other signs of the rapid onset of fossil fuel development in a region known for its remoteness, pristine agricultural land, and natural beauty.

‘Frack Gag’ Bans Children From Talking About Fracking, Forever

When drilling company Range Resources offered the Hallowich family a $750,000 settlement to relocate from their fracking-polluted home in Washington County, Pennsylvania, it came with a common restriction. Chris and Stephanie Hallowich would be forbidden from ever speaking about fracking or the Marcellus Shale. But one element of the gag order was all new. The Hallowichs’ two young children, ages 7 and 10, would be subject to the same restrictions, banned from speaking about their family’s experience for the rest of their lives.

Detroit’s Fight Between Investors And Retirees: What You Need To Know About

Two weeks ago, Detroit filed for bankruptcy protections, saying it is unable to pay back the roughly $18 billion it owes. The bankruptcy faces legal challenges from creditors who say emergency manager Kevyn Orr did not negotiate with them in good faith, and intended to steer the city into bankruptcy court. Emails from the winter involving Orr and state officials seem to support that claim. But if Orr can beat the legal hurdles and have the bankruptcy filing approved by a judge, the city will no longer need the approval of its creditors to repay less than what they are owed.

Michael Ansara Dead: 'Star Trek' Actor Dies At 91

Michael Ansara, the actor who played the "Star Trek" Klingon commander Kang in the franchise's TV show, died on Wednesday, July 31. He was 91.

Ron Weekley Jr. Beat Brutality By Cops for Supposedly Riding His Skateboard Against Traffic In-front Of His Home!

Ronald Weekley Jr., 20, says he thought he was 'going to die' in the incident, caught on video, which is being investigated by LAPD's internal affairs unit.

Tuskegee Airman: John Edward Allen living in NM dead at age 84

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — John Edward Allen, a New Mexico veteran who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and later earned honors for his Air Force service during the Vietnam War, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

Even As Unemployment Drops, Those Who Find Jobs Can’t Get Enough Hours

On Friday, the monthly jobs report showed that 162,000 jobs were added in July, pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.4 percent. This is the lowest rate in the past five years, but a closer look reveals that those who are lucky enough to find a job may still be struggling to get by.

Many Of The Counties Most In Need Of "Obama cares" Are Represented By Republicans Who Want To Repeal It

On Friday, Republicans in the House will vote for the 40th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act, wasting another day and thousands of taxpayer dollars on a bill that has no chance of becoming law.

Illinois Becomes 20th State With Medical Marijuana Law

Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed Illinois’ medical marijuana bill into law Wednesday, making the Land of Lincoln the 20th state to allow marijuana for limited medical purposes, in addition to the District of Columbia. Once the law goes into effect January 1, it will permit marijuana use with a doctor’s prescription for more than 30 specified ailments; require users, growers, and dispensaries to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks; and limit the number of growers and dispensaries. It also limits the amount of marijuana per person to the equivalent of two small sandwich bags over the course of two weeks.

Slashing Racist Crack Sentences Has Already Saved 16K Prison Years And Half A Billion Dollars

In 2010, Congress mitigated a blight on the U.S. justice system by reducing a racist drug sentencing disparity. Before the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, crack offenses, which disproportionately ensnare African Americans, carried mandatory minimum sentences that were 100 times those for powder cocaine sentences, which are more often doled out to whites. In the compromise measure, Congress reduced that disparity to 18 to 1. While the law initially applied only to future sentences, the U.S. Sentencing Commission opted a year later to apply the new law to sentences retroactively.

36 Senators Introduce Bill Prohibiting Virtually Any New Law Helping Workers

More than three-quarters of the Senate Republican caucus signed onto legislation introduced Wednesday by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) that could render it virtually impossible for Congress to enact any legislation intended to improve working conditions or otherwise regulate the workplace. Had their bill been in effect during the Twentieth Century, for example, there would likely be no nationwide minimum wage, no national ban on workplace discrimination, no national labor law and no overtime in most industries.

Galaxy S3 and Note 2 owners will have to wait for Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update but the Galaxy S2 Plus Getting it Now In Germany

It’s the non-Nexus lifestyle. Waiting and praying for an update with no timeline of just when that update might arrive. Samsung has been one of the best in regards to Android updates and it has continued its great track record by providing the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S2 Plus, at least in Germany.

You Can Thank The Koch Brothers For The Big, Dirty Cloud Floating Over Detroit

On Tuesday, Detroit Bulk Storage confirmed that a large black cloud spotted over the Detroit River last weekend and caught on camera by residents across the border in Windsor, was indeed from the petroleum coke piles they have been storing illegally on behalf of Koch Carbon.

Rev. Jesse Jackson defends ‘apartheid’ comments about Fla.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Despite calls to apologize by Florida’s governor, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is standing by his comments that the state’s struggle with the Trayvon Martin case can be compared to the civil rights clashes during the 60s in Selma, Ala.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History wants Trayvon Martin’s hoodie

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History wants the hooded sweatshirt Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was shot and killed.

What's Big Oil Doing With Their Billions In Q2 Profits?

Three of the five Big Oil companies released their second quarter profits today, raking in a combined $11.4 billion this quarter for a total of $31 billion this year. While profits declined for each company, Exxon Mobil still brought in $6.9 billion despite a drop in oil and gas production. Shell had to spend $2 billion to write down their North American shale assets – which contained less natural gas than anticipated – but still announced $2.4 billion in profits. Finally, ConocoPhillips, the largest independent U.S. producer, increased their production and brought in $2.1 billion for the second quarter of 2013.

Brain-Eating Parasites Thrive As Global Warming Heats Up U.S. Lakes

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite can infect most warm-blooded animals (including humans), but the primary host is the cat family. Animals are infected by eating contaminated meat/water, by ingestion of cat feces, or by transmission from mother to fetus. Although cats are usually blamed for spreading this brain parasite, contact with raw meat is a more significant cause of human infections in many countries.

Senate Confirms Top Gun Cop For The First Time In American History

By the narrowest of margins — and after a lengthy vote held open due to one senator’s absence — the Senate voted Wednesday evening to break a Republican filibuster of B. Todd Jones to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John McCain (R-AZ) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) crossed over to vote with all 54 Democrats to break the filibuser. Shortly after this vote, Jones was confirmed 53-42 — the first time in American history that an ATF Director has been confirmed.

Obama Orders Review Of Chemical Plant Safety Regulations

President Obama announced an executive order on Thursday tasking federal agencies with reviewing safety rules at chemical facilities and identifying new ways to store and secure ammonium nitrate, the chemical that caused a fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX in April that left 15 dead. The agencies are also ordered to determine whether other chemicals should fall under the purview of federal regulatory programs.

With Current Student Debt Means A $4 Trillion Loss Of Wealth In The Future

A student who takes out $53,000 in debt, the average amount for those attending a four-year public university, will experience a a lifetime loss of wealth totaling $208,000, according to a new report from the think tank Demos. It dives into the long-term costs of rising student debt and finds that for those who carry the $1 trillion in total student debt, their lifetime wealth loss will equal $4 trillion. Students from low-income families and minorities are affected the most because they proportionally take on more debt.

Florida Sheriff: Officers Who Shot Unarmed Black Man In His Driveway Followed ‘Standard Protocols’

According to Florida Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan in a CNN interview Thursday, the police officers who fired 15 shots at 60-year-old Roy Middleton in the driveway of his and his mother’s home acted entirely within their limits in response to a 911 call for a suspected car theft. For his late-night excursion to grab cigarettes out of his mother’s car, Middleton is now recovering from a bullet wound in his leg, along with bullets piercing his mother’s car and the side of the house.

The Devastating Spending Cuts That Were Too Much For House Republicans To Swallow

On Wednesday, the House was supposed to vote on a bill that would have set specific funding levels for transportation and housing related programs. Normally the amount such a bill could spend on programs would have been set by a budget, but because Republicans have repeatedly refused to hash out the differences between budgets proposed by the House and Senate, there is no such guiding document. House lawmakers had been instructed instead to use spending limits set by the Republican budget they passed in March, written by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), that included severe spending reductions.

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor

Whether you’re a working mother who relies on welfare, a child who gets nutrition from food stamps, or a Catholic nun, some Republican lawmakers apparently have the same refrain for those seeking government assistance: You’re on your own.

Clarence Thomas’ wife sparks effort to impose tougher Supreme Court ethics

Democrats in the House and Senate plan to re-introduce legislation that would hold Supreme Court justices to the same judicial standards as federal judges.

Almost Nothing in Common: A Johnny Manziel and Trayvon Martin Comparison Piece

A man holds up a package of “Skittles” candy in front of a photograph of slain 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on the steps of City Hall in New York, March 28, 2012. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

“He ate Skittles, drank beer and won the Heisman.”—Paul Manziel, father of Johnny Manziel

House Approves Student Loan Interest Rate Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan bill that would reduce the costs of borrowing for millions of students passed the House on Wednesday and was heading to President Barack Obama for his signature.