DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, March 16, 2018
As High Court Weighs Online Sales Taxes, States Get Ready to Pounce
States are writing new laws for collecting taxes on internet sales, banking on a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court.
To Prevent Suicides and School Shootings, More States Embrace Anonymous Tip Lines
Tip lines are one of the few policy responses to mass shootings that Republicans and Democrats can agree on, but some schools may not have the capacity to respond to a high volume of tips.
A New Documentary About Adults On Adderall — And Not Just For ADHD
Stimulant drugs like Adderall and Ritalin are commonly prescribed to kids with what's known as ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But recently, adults became the biggest users of these drugs.
That's partially because more adults are being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time. But the new Netflix documentary Take Your Pills focuses on the use of these drugs to boost cognitive performance in college classrooms and the workplace.
"What the film really looks at is really: What do these pills promise, and what do people desire?" says director Alison Klayman. "And these drugs are associated with keeping better focus — it's better attention, it's better productivity — in this moment when people are all really feeling squeezed, feeling pressure to perform."
Klayman, a former All Things Considered intern and now a filmmaker, spoke with us from NPR's studios in New York City.
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That's partially because more adults are being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time. But the new Netflix documentary Take Your Pills focuses on the use of these drugs to boost cognitive performance in college classrooms and the workplace.
"What the film really looks at is really: What do these pills promise, and what do people desire?" says director Alison Klayman. "And these drugs are associated with keeping better focus — it's better attention, it's better productivity — in this moment when people are all really feeling squeezed, feeling pressure to perform."
Klayman, a former All Things Considered intern and now a filmmaker, spoke with us from NPR's studios in New York City.
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Harper Lee Estate Sues Over 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Broadway Script By Aaron Sorkin
In the latest battle involving the works of Harper Lee, the author's estate is suing producer Scott Rudin over the script of an upcoming Broadway play of To Kill A Mockingbird.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Alabama, Lee's estate complains that the new production by Rudin and writer Aaron Sorkin deviates too much from the novel.
Lee died in February 2016. Her estate maintains that the contract signed between Lee and Rudin's production company, Rudinplay, in 2015 requires that the play "not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the Novel nor alter its characters," and that the estate has the final authority to determine whether such departures have occurred.
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In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Alabama, Lee's estate complains that the new production by Rudin and writer Aaron Sorkin deviates too much from the novel.
Lee died in February 2016. Her estate maintains that the contract signed between Lee and Rudin's production company, Rudinplay, in 2015 requires that the play "not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the Novel nor alter its characters," and that the estate has the final authority to determine whether such departures have occurred.
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Obama DOJ ordered 500k Fugitive deleted from Background Database
The Obama administration ordered the removal of over 500,000 fugitives with outstanding arrest warrants from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in late 2016, according to testimony from Acting FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich.
Bowdich confirmed a November report from the Washington Post which set the figure at "tens of thousands," after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked him if more than 500,000 names were dropped from the database.
The FBI purged the names from the database after the Justice Department changed its legal interpretation of “fugitive from justice” to say it pertains only to wanted people who have crossed state lines.
What that means is that those fugitives who were previously prohibited under federal law from purchasing firearms can now buy them, unless barred for other reasons. -WaPo
“That was a decision that was made under the previous administration,” Bowdich testified.
“It was the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that reviewed the law and believed that it needed to be interpreted so that if someone was a fugitive in a state, there had to be indications that they had crossed state lines,” said Bowdich. “Otherwise they were not known to be a fugitive under the law in the way it was interpreted.”
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Bowdich confirmed a November report from the Washington Post which set the figure at "tens of thousands," after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked him if more than 500,000 names were dropped from the database.
The FBI purged the names from the database after the Justice Department changed its legal interpretation of “fugitive from justice” to say it pertains only to wanted people who have crossed state lines.
What that means is that those fugitives who were previously prohibited under federal law from purchasing firearms can now buy them, unless barred for other reasons. -WaPo
“That was a decision that was made under the previous administration,” Bowdich testified.
“It was the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that reviewed the law and believed that it needed to be interpreted so that if someone was a fugitive in a state, there had to be indications that they had crossed state lines,” said Bowdich. “Otherwise they were not known to be a fugitive under the law in the way it was interpreted.”
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House Passes School Safety Bill
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would authorize grants to train students, law enforcement and teachers to identify the signs of school violence before it occurs.
The 407 to 10 vote was held exactly one month after a gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people on Valentine's Day.
The "Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018" would authorize $50 million annually in grants to strengthen school security, pay for "school threat assessment" teams to train students and staff to report threats and other measures over 10 years.
The bill passed by the House does not include provisions to arm teachers, which is something that President Donald Trump has called for
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The 407 to 10 vote was held exactly one month after a gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people on Valentine's Day.
The "Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018" would authorize $50 million annually in grants to strengthen school security, pay for "school threat assessment" teams to train students and staff to report threats and other measures over 10 years.
The bill passed by the House does not include provisions to arm teachers, which is something that President Donald Trump has called for
More
Convicted murderer is denied clemency one day before his execution
A convicted murderer, known as the 'stocking strangler' for choking elderly women with their own stockings before he killed them, was denied clemency, one day before he's set to executed for the murders of three elderly women in Georgia.
Carlton Gary is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7pm on Thursday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
The 67-year-old inmate was convicted on three counts each of malice murder, rape and burglary for the 1977 deaths of 89-year-old Florence Scheible, 69-year-old Martha Thurmond and 74-year-old Kathleen Woodruff.
Attorneys for Gary had submitted a clemency request saying the convicted murderer is innocent and evidence proves he did not commit the crimes, but a Georgia Patrol board announced Wednesday that the request was denied.
'Following a meeting to consider clemency for condemned inmate Carlton Michael Gary, and after thoroughly considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency in the case,' a statementread.
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Carlton Gary is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7pm on Thursday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
The 67-year-old inmate was convicted on three counts each of malice murder, rape and burglary for the 1977 deaths of 89-year-old Florence Scheible, 69-year-old Martha Thurmond and 74-year-old Kathleen Woodruff.
Attorneys for Gary had submitted a clemency request saying the convicted murderer is innocent and evidence proves he did not commit the crimes, but a Georgia Patrol board announced Wednesday that the request was denied.
'Following a meeting to consider clemency for condemned inmate Carlton Michael Gary, and after thoroughly considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency in the case,' a statementread.
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Glen Avenue road closure announced for Potomac Youth Conference
SALISBURY, Md. – The Wicomico Youth & Civic Center is scheduled to host the Potomac Youth Conference on Friday, March 16, through Saturday, March 17.
To provide safe passage for attendees, a portion of Glen Avenue in front of the WY&CC will close on Friday, March 16, at 3 p.m. through Sunday, March 18, at 7 a.m. The closed portion runs from Civic Avenue to St. Albans Drive.
To provide safe passage for attendees, a portion of Glen Avenue in front of the WY&CC will close on Friday, March 16, at 3 p.m. through Sunday, March 18, at 7 a.m. The closed portion runs from Civic Avenue to St. Albans Drive.
Democrat Running for Governor Takes Aim At Smith & Wesson, Wants Manufacturing Ban in Massachusetts
BOSTON — Massachusetts already has a ban on the ownership of assault weapons, but one Democrat for governor thinks the state could do more to disassociate itself from the types of firearms that have been used to execute multiple mass shootings around the country.
Jay Gonzalez, one of three Democrats running for governor, called Wednesday for the state to outlaw the manufacturing of assault rifles for commercial sale, targeting the Springfield-based Smith & Wesson, a major western Massachusetts employer.
Smith & Wesson, a subsidiary of American Outdoor Brands, manufactured the AR-15-style rifle used in the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.
Gonzalez offered his proposal hours before he joined students from Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and Holyoke to rally outside the headquarters of Smith & Wesson to demand a meeting with the gun manufacturer’s chief executive to discuss how the manufacturer can help reduce gun violence.
“Weapons that cannot be legally purchased in Massachusetts should not be manufactured in our state,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve got to finally say enough is enough. The gun used in Parkland was manufactured by Smith & Wesson. If we had a law in place banning that from happening, that gun never would have ended up in the hands of that young man.”
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Jay Gonzalez, one of three Democrats running for governor, called Wednesday for the state to outlaw the manufacturing of assault rifles for commercial sale, targeting the Springfield-based Smith & Wesson, a major western Massachusetts employer.
Smith & Wesson, a subsidiary of American Outdoor Brands, manufactured the AR-15-style rifle used in the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.
Gonzalez offered his proposal hours before he joined students from Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and Holyoke to rally outside the headquarters of Smith & Wesson to demand a meeting with the gun manufacturer’s chief executive to discuss how the manufacturer can help reduce gun violence.
“Weapons that cannot be legally purchased in Massachusetts should not be manufactured in our state,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve got to finally say enough is enough. The gun used in Parkland was manufactured by Smith & Wesson. If we had a law in place banning that from happening, that gun never would have ended up in the hands of that young man.”
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California Appoints Illegal Alien to State Office
California has its first illegal alien in state office, after Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) appointed Lizbeth Mateo to the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Project Grant Advisory Committee.
Mateo, an attorney, was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. illegally at the age of 14 with her parents, who are also illegal aliens, according to the Sacramento Bee.
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Mateo, an attorney, was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. illegally at the age of 14 with her parents, who are also illegal aliens, according to the Sacramento Bee.
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SECRET EMPIRES: Biden, Kerry’s Sons Struck Billion-Dollar Deal with Chinese Govt Days After VP Visit
The private equity firm of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden inked a billion-dollar deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China just 10 days after the father and son flew to China in 2013.
The Biden bombshell is one of many revealed in a new investigative book Secret Empires:How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Government Accountability Institute President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer. Schweizer’s last book, Clinton Cash, sparked an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
According to an exclusive New York Post excerpt from the book, the Biden billion-dollar China deal occurred as follows. Hunter Biden was the principal of Rosemont Seneca Bohai.
In December of 2013, Vice President Biden and his son Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Ten days after the trip, a subsidiary of the Bank of China named Bohai Capital signed an exclusive deal with Hunter Biden’s firm to form a $1 billion joint-investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST. The deal was later increased to $1.5 billion.
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The Biden bombshell is one of many revealed in a new investigative book Secret Empires:How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Government Accountability Institute President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer. Schweizer’s last book, Clinton Cash, sparked an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
According to an exclusive New York Post excerpt from the book, the Biden billion-dollar China deal occurred as follows. Hunter Biden was the principal of Rosemont Seneca Bohai.
In December of 2013, Vice President Biden and his son Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Ten days after the trip, a subsidiary of the Bank of China named Bohai Capital signed an exclusive deal with Hunter Biden’s firm to form a $1 billion joint-investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST. The deal was later increased to $1.5 billion.
More
Wells Fargo faces sanctions over ‘forced’ auto insurance sales
US regulators are preparing to sanction Wells Fargo for receiving commissions on auto insurance policies it helped force on more than half a million drivers, people with direct knowledge of the probes told Reuters.
In July, Wells Fargo blamed a third-party vendor for wrongly layering insurance policies on its auto borrowers. Wells Fargo did not explain that it received payouts when those policies were written.
“We had a vendor that was providing insurance,” chief executive officer Tim Sloan told investors in September. “We should have caught that and we should have dealt with it.”
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In July, Wells Fargo blamed a third-party vendor for wrongly layering insurance policies on its auto borrowers. Wells Fargo did not explain that it received payouts when those policies were written.
“We had a vendor that was providing insurance,” chief executive officer Tim Sloan told investors in September. “We should have caught that and we should have dealt with it.”
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Rand Paul: It's Time For A New American Foreign Policy
Americans have also been increasingly clear that they are tired of constant war
What kind of job can you have where you are consistently wrong, yet get to still go on TV talking endlessly and making more wild predictions that will no doubt lead to the same failed result?
If you guessed “TV Weatherman” you’re close…but the job I’m referring to is “Neocon Foreign Policy Expert”.
Being a neocon means never having to say you’re sorry, even trillions of dollars and decades into doomed wars.
What kind of job can you have where you are consistently wrong, yet get to still go on TV talking endlessly and making more wild predictions that will no doubt lead to the same failed result?
If you guessed “TV Weatherman” you’re close…but the job I’m referring to is “Neocon Foreign Policy Expert”.
Being a neocon means never having to say you’re sorry, even trillions of dollars and decades into doomed wars.
Iraq
FDA to cut the amount in nicotine in cigarettes
The FDA has proposed a new rule to limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes sold in the US as a first prong of its attack on the addictive nature of the products.
Nicotine is the active part of tobacco which most scientists think is to blame for both the stimulating and addictive effects of cigarette smoking.
Despite widespread efforts by US regulators and the World Health Organization to stem the sale of cigarettes and their devastating public health consequences, smoking kills 480,000 Americans every year.
The FDA first announced its intent to regulate nicotine levels in 2009, but the formal notice, published on Thursday, marks the first real action the agency has been able to take after spending years hamstrung by Big Tobacco's legal challenges.
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Nicotine is the active part of tobacco which most scientists think is to blame for both the stimulating and addictive effects of cigarette smoking.
Despite widespread efforts by US regulators and the World Health Organization to stem the sale of cigarettes and their devastating public health consequences, smoking kills 480,000 Americans every year.
The FDA first announced its intent to regulate nicotine levels in 2009, but the formal notice, published on Thursday, marks the first real action the agency has been able to take after spending years hamstrung by Big Tobacco's legal challenges.
More
FBI Dropped Fugitives From NICS Database
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department under Barack Obama directed the FBI to drop more than 500,000 names of fugitives with outstanding arrest warrants from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, acting FBI deputy director David Bowdich testified Wednesday.
Fugitives from justice are barred from buying a firearm under federal law. But what is a fugitive from justice? That definition has been under debate by the FBI and the ATF.
According to The Washington Post, the FBI considered any person with an outstanding arrest warrant to be a fugitive. On the other hand, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defined a fugitive as someone who has an outstanding arrest warrant and has crossed state lines.
That disagreement was settled at the end of Obama’s second term, when the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel sided with the ATF’s interpretation. Under President Donald Trump, the DOJ defined a fugitive as a person who went to another state to dodge criminal prosecution or evade giving testimony in criminal court, and implemented the Office of Legal Counsel’s decision. The decision meant that around half a million fugitives were removed from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
More
Fugitives from justice are barred from buying a firearm under federal law. But what is a fugitive from justice? That definition has been under debate by the FBI and the ATF.
According to The Washington Post, the FBI considered any person with an outstanding arrest warrant to be a fugitive. On the other hand, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defined a fugitive as someone who has an outstanding arrest warrant and has crossed state lines.
That disagreement was settled at the end of Obama’s second term, when the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel sided with the ATF’s interpretation. Under President Donald Trump, the DOJ defined a fugitive as a person who went to another state to dodge criminal prosecution or evade giving testimony in criminal court, and implemented the Office of Legal Counsel’s decision. The decision meant that around half a million fugitives were removed from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
More
Pakistani Covert Support for Taliban Revealed
Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of the Central Command, disclosed in congressional testimony this week that despite a new U.S. policy of pressuring Pakistan, the Islamabad government is still supporting the Taliban terrorist group in the border region with Afghanistan.
Asked during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday if Pakistan is continuing to back terrorist activity in Afghanistan, Gen. Votel said the U.S. pressure campaign has produced some “positive indicators” of a shift.
However, on the question of continued Pakistani support, Gen. Votel noted: “I cannot tell you that we have seen decisive changes in the areas in which we’re working, but I remain very well-engaged with my partner to ensure that we are moving forward on this.”
Asked about a recent surge of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and whether they were linked to support from Pakistan, Gen. Votel said: “Having sanctuary in Pakistan or having support from other actors in the region certainly is an aspect of the Taliban’s success here.”
An intelligence source close to the Afghan border region said Pakistan’s ISI intelligence service is continuing its covert support for the Taliban in the border region. The source said ISI is providing both protection and material support to the Taliban in areas between Quetta and the Afghan border.
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Asked during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday if Pakistan is continuing to back terrorist activity in Afghanistan, Gen. Votel said the U.S. pressure campaign has produced some “positive indicators” of a shift.
However, on the question of continued Pakistani support, Gen. Votel noted: “I cannot tell you that we have seen decisive changes in the areas in which we’re working, but I remain very well-engaged with my partner to ensure that we are moving forward on this.”
Asked about a recent surge of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan and whether they were linked to support from Pakistan, Gen. Votel said: “Having sanctuary in Pakistan or having support from other actors in the region certainly is an aspect of the Taliban’s success here.”
An intelligence source close to the Afghan border region said Pakistan’s ISI intelligence service is continuing its covert support for the Taliban in the border region. The source said ISI is providing both protection and material support to the Taliban in areas between Quetta and the Afghan border.
More
CAIR Slapped With Investigative Subpoenas Over Coordinating With San Diego Schools
Pressure is mounting against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for its controversial partnership with the San Diego Unified School District in developing an anti-Islamophobia bullying initiative that was enacted last April.
Investigative subpoenas were issued Wednesday afternoon to CAIR’s chapter in California that seek all communications and documents concerning its involvement in creating the allegedly unconstitutional initiative.
CAIR-California will need to produce the documents within 10 days, or it risks facing legal penalties for being held in contempt of court, according to the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund (FCDF), a religious liberty group that issued the subpoenas.
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Investigative subpoenas were issued Wednesday afternoon to CAIR’s chapter in California that seek all communications and documents concerning its involvement in creating the allegedly unconstitutional initiative.
CAIR-California will need to produce the documents within 10 days, or it risks facing legal penalties for being held in contempt of court, according to the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund (FCDF), a religious liberty group that issued the subpoenas.
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Jessup Georgia Walmart Pepsi Display
Thank you everyone!
I had the store manager contact me and express his gratitude for all those who showed support and even some who didn’t.
They have taken the display down...not because of negative PR...if not changing gears due to coming up seasons and events!
Again, I want to thank you and please keep this picture circulating! It is good to know that Pepsi and Walmart acknowledge HIM! — at Walmart Jesup, Georgia
Think we could get our local Pepsi employees to do this in our local Walmart stores?
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