Phone Warrants Warranted, NSA Spying, Surveillance State, Your Privacy; Bad Cops, Authoritah, Cuffed, Killed, K9; Ticket, Speed, Crash, Morgan, Road Rage; Fatigue

Phone Warrants Warranted

• Supreme Court Says Phones Can't Be Searched Without a Warrant—A stunning 9-0 decision. NYT
• The most important sentence in the Supreme Court's cell phone privacy ruling
• What to do if police try to search your phone without a warrant

NSA Spying

• SCOTUS cellphone ruling resonates in NSA fight—"Chief Justice John Roberts's 28-page paean to digital privacy was like music to the ears of critics of the NSA's metadata program, which sweeps up details on billions of calls and searches them for possible links to terrorist plots." Politico
• Snarky Lawmaker Reminds Former NSA Chief That Selling State Secrets Is Illegal
• Over NSA worries, Germany ends government contract with Verizon—"Rare meaningful response after US revealed its spying on German chancellor."
• Denmark's ties with the NSA are deeper than previously thought
• NSA-proof messaging app Wickr gains £17m in funding
• Blimp flies over NSA's Utah Data Center to protest 'illegal mass surveillance program'

Surveillance State

• Surveillance: It's Worse Than You Think
• U.S. Says It Spied on 89,000 Targets Last Year, But the Number Is Deceptive
• New Data Shows FBI Issued More Than 19k National Security Letters in 2013
• Theresa May: There is no surveillance state—Bwahahahaha!
• Researchers uncover government digital surveillance tool—"A program used by governments around the world to access and monitor a person's digital footprint across mobile networks and the internet has been uncovered by two sets of researchers who have broken down how it works."

Your Privacy

• The Senate's New Cybersecurity Bill Threatens Net Neutrality
• Massachusetts high court orders suspect to decrypt his computers
• PRISM, Local Edition: NY DA Employs 381 Secret Orders to Gather Complete Digital Dossiers from Facebook
• Why the Supreme Court May Finally Protect Your Privacy in the Cloud
• Why Apple really cares about your privacy

Bad Cops

• Massachusetts SWAT teams claim they're private corporations, immune from open records laws—"Unusual law enforcement counsels that operate the SWAT teams say they aren't public entities." WaPo
• Major murder case collapses in new 'police corruption' scandal—"Scotland Yard is facing serious questions after the prosecution of a man charged with murder quietly collapsed following an investigation into alleged police corruption."
• White Detroit Police Lieutenant Files Discrimination Complaint Against Department—"A lieutenant in charge of the Detroit Police Department's drug unit says he was the victim of racial discrimination and subjected to a hostile work environment for reporting wrongdoing."
• Cleveland grand jury indicts six officers in deadly 2012 chase
• Denver police chief orders review of alcohol abuse reports in ranks
• Miami, Okla. officer indicted by a Grand Jury for her part in alleged scheme to protect the arresting officers
• SC sheriff latest to be charged in past 4 years—"... making him the eighth sheriff in the state to face criminal charges or investigations...."
• Police officer accused of recording men in bathroom, soliciting oral sex online
• Police Officer Fired For Secretly Filming Chief Having Sex In Ambulance

Authoritah

• Sheriff's deputy sought crazed vengeance after his car is egged by teens, charging documents show
• Mass. state trooper treats man like criminal for failing to show "respect"
• Roanoke Rapids police cleared in use of stun gun on autistic teen
• How Poor Young Black Men Run from the Police

Cuffed

• Officer tried to save handcuffed Clive man who drowned—"How a life jacket came off of a Clive man who was handcuffed when he went off a police boat and drowned will be a key part of the Missouri Highway Patrol's investigation into the incident, officials said."
• Durham police says teen shot self, family accuses officials of withholding facts
• Video released of local bodybuilder, Daniel Saenz, shot by El Paso police officer—Grand jury refuses to indict [Salon].
• Utah Democrat Fights Back After Police Smash Spinal Cord Stimulator: Running for State Rep. on Anti-Police State Platform

Killed

• Albuquerque ordered to pay $6m over man's wrongful killing by police—"Ruling says officers were not acting in self-defence when they shot dead a man with schizophrenia in his backyard in 2011."
• Video shows Albuquerque police killing homeless man
• 1 of 2 victims found in suitcases was from Minn.—"According to WTMJ, the [murder] suspect is a former West Allis police officer."
• City of Oxnard Agrees to Multimillion Dollar Settlement—"Oxnard paying record $6.7 million for police shooting death of innocent man."
• Dallas to pay $900000 to family of unarmed man killed by police
• Family of WWII vet killed by beanbag gun files suit—95-year-old man came out with a knife.
• Witness: Man fatally shot by Jersey City police asked 'Why did you shoot me?'—"You shouldn't have been wrestling with us."
• Prisoner: I cleaned up skin of inmate scalded in shower; human-rights groups call for federal intervention

K9

• Owners have questions after police shoot dog in home—"'I thought my dog would still be there, I may have wanted to bury my dog in my backyard. Who told you to take my dog away?' [Hope Lane] asked. The blood had also been cleaned up by police."
• Investigation underway into why officer shot dog in its own yard
• Police: Dog's throat cut; Officer charged with animal cruelty
• 2nd officer suspended in slitting of dog's throat
• Salt Lake man wants police officer who killed his dog fired
• Australia: ACT police officer removed from frontline duties after capsicum-spraying dog

Ticket

• Chief judge of Broward issues statement: Trust us—"Broward residents can trust the justice system — despite the spectacle of three sitting judges facing criminal charges for allegedly driving while under the influence, the county's chief administrative judge said Monday."
• Parma resident ticketed for sign warning of drunken driving checkpoint
• Chicago: Quinn signs bill banning police ticket quotas
• Florida Supreme Court: Early red-light cameras were illegal
• Man gets traffic ticket for running stop sign when video shows he clearly stopped—According to the police chief, "the law says you stop at the stop sign, you move forward, stop again, until you can see that the intersection is clear and then you go." What?
• Robin Hooder sentenced to jail in connection with city parking dispute
• Man sues L.A., saying his parking ticket violates the 8th amendment
• Open data saves New York City drivers from parking tickets—"Here's a great example of how making government data open can directly benefit you."

Speed

• Speed Kills Your Pocketbook
• Sometimes Faster is Better
• Blast from the Past: Montana: No Speed Limit Safety Paradox

Crash

• Staggering toll: Car crashes cost $871 billion a year
• Emma Czornobaj guilty in 2 highway deaths after stopping for ducks
• Husband, Wife Killed After Colliding in Head-On Crash
• We Should Denounce Drowsy Driving
• Texts worse than drink-driving
• 4 in 10 Teens Admit Texting While Driving
• Volkswagen - Eyes on the road

Morgan

• Truck Driver Charged With Causing Crash That Injured Tracy Morgan
• Tracy Morgan crash: Truck driver hadn't slept for 24 hours, documents say
• Tracy Morgan's rep: Leg amputation rumors are false
• Comedian Tracy Morgan moved to rehab center as condition improves
• Walmart says it will take 'full responsibility' if their truck caused fatal crash

Road Rage

• Man with 150 arrests gets 5 years for fatal hit-and-run
• Man Killed Trying to Stop Daughter from Drunk Driving—She's gonna have to live with that for the rest of her life.
• Motorcyclist who filmed, uploaded police flight video to serve hard time—"Defendant Ali's GPS anklet from unrelated offense clocked him in at 115 mph."
• Driver, 60, caught 'using cell phone jammer to keep motorists around him off the phone'
• Motorcyclist Clocked At 150+ MPH On I-75 Speaks Out
• Car fleeing from police goes through park, nearly hits children—Fourteen-year-old was driving.
• Teens' attempted car theft foiled by stick shift
• Teenager's £13,000 car stolen and taken for 15-minute joyride... but thief drove so well it helped bring down his insurance costs

Fatigue

• Just Days Before Tracy Morgan Accident, Senate Moved To Weaken Trucker Fatigue Rules
• Air traffic controllers still work compressed 'rattler' schedules—Also: Your Safety Depends on Air Traffic Controllers Who Are Still Working Crazy Shifts
• Worker fatigue cause of health care mistakes, study finds

World Drug Day, DEA, Habersham, Bad Cops, Militarization, Legalization and Decriminalization, Medical Marijuana, Colorado, Prison, Death Penalty, Innocence, Trial and Error, Law and Disorder, Fuzz-y, Recording

World Drug Day

• Branson: The War on Drugs Has Failed, So Let's Shut it Down
• States Undo Food Stamp Felon Bans—"Two states are taking small steps away from a little-known aspect of the war on drugs."
• Reduced sentences urged for non-violent drug offenders
• City of Chicago Files Lawsuit Blaming Painkiller Marketing for Prescription Drug Epidemic
• Having authoritarian parents increases risk of drug use in adolescents, European study finds
• New drug called Snapchat hospitalising users—"Australian police have issued a warning about a new drug called Snapchat, branded with the Snapchat logo and based on bath salts."
• Mexican Drug Cartel May Have Penetrated Rural Ohio Town, Police Say

DEA

• Is DEA Dazed & Confused Over Industrial Hemp?—"The Department of Agriculture needs hemp seeds for critical research. Why is the DEA trying to stop them?"
• Mass. Doctors Say DEA Pressuring Them To Resign From Medical Marijuana Companies—"Several Massachusetts doctors associated with prospective medical marijuana dispensaries are reportedly facing intense pressure from the federal government to cut ties with those companies."
• DEA obstructs research into medical marijuana: report—"Study says agency should not be in charge of scheduling drugs or giving access to drugs for medical research."

Habersham

• Raid that injured toddler based on info from informant
• Investigation into botched Habersham County drug raid growing
• D.A.: "I did not tell Habersham county sheriff there was nothing to investigate" in flashbang baby case
• A SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son Salon

Bad Cops

• Jury awards more than $2 million to family of pastor killed by narcotics task force WaPo
• Family sues over drug raid of wrong house: San Bruno residents claim multiple violations for June incident
• Man angry after police break into and damage his truck over dubious marijuana suspicion
• These pot searches by police don't pass the smell test
• Seattle police seize more than 2K illegally grown pot plants—"Detectives, however, didn't arrest anyone and said they were only interested in bringing the operation numbers down to the legal limits."
• Police Department Sued For Allegedly Seizing Pot Plants—"A group of medical marijuana patients on the Big Island of Hawaii are suing to get back pot plants that were allegedly seized wrongfully by police."
• Thousands of Rapists Are Not Behind Bars Because Cops Focus on Marijuana Users

Militarization

• Report: SWAT Teams Armed With Military Equipment Spend Most of Their Time Waging the Drug War
• Here's The Crazy Cache Of Military Weapons Arizona's Cops Have At Their Fingertips
• Scenes from militarized America: Brookline, Mass., and the Michigan State Police WaPo
• Report Points To 'Dangerous Militarization' Of U.S. Law Enforcement
• The Police States of America: Five stories that prove we've lost the battle against police

Legalization and Decriminalization

• Yes, We Cannabis—"Has the legalization of marijuana in America become inevitable?"
• Cops Like Me Say Legalize All Drugs. Here's Why.—"Who exactly is prohibition supposed to be helping? After many years of enforcing drug laws as a police officer, my experience with an addicted family member changed my attitude for good."
• Attorney says marijuana wrongly classified as dangerous drug, federal prosecution unfair—Separately, the FDA is looking into this.
• "Evergreen" reveals the weird lessons of Washington's weed battle—"After Colorado and Washington, we're on the way toward national legalization. But will liberals get left behind?" Salon
• Delaware Might Be The Next State To Legalize Marijuana
• Texas GOP Won't Pass the Marijuana
• Philadelphia City Council Votes to Decriminalize Marijuana—It's a veto-proof vote, not that it will matter to the police.
• Jamaica to decriminalize personal marijuana possession
• Anti-marijuana candidate loses in Uruguay primary
• Pope condemns efforts to legalize marijuana—Booooo.

Medical Marijuana

• Florida governor signs law allowing limited medical marijuana use
• Sheldon Adelson Bankrolls Anti-Medical Marijuana Push—"Mogul gives $2.5M to Florida referendum opponents."
• Families celebrate new Iowa marijuana law—Gov. Terry Branstad signed Senate File 2360, legalizing medical marijuana.
• New York Is About to Legalize Medical Marijuana (But With No Smoking Allowed)
• Uruguay set to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis

Colorado

• Despite dire predictions, Denver crime falls over 10 percent in wake of pot legalization
• No Colorado marijuana stores found selling to minors in police checks
• Colorado's poster boy for 'stoned driving' was drunk off his gourd—"Earlier media reports played up Keith Kilbey's pot use, made no mention of alcohol." WaPo
• After 5 Months of Sales, Colorado Sees the Downside of a Legal High NYT
• Hershey's sues Colorado pot candy company

Prison

• Unsealed records allege brutality, corruption in Denver Jail & witness intimidation by police
• Los Angeles: Ex-Deputy Says He Was Trained To Beat Up Inmates Then Cover It Up
• Jurors hear of deputies' attempt to coerce FBI agent—'She told the lies, she testified before a federal grand jury, in an attempt to find out the details of the FBI's civil rights investigation into county jails."
• Judge's Decision to Hear Inmates' Case Threatens Practice of Solitary Confinement NYT
• Censored and 'Obscene' in Solitary—"After a huge hunger strike to protest the state prison system's inhuman conditions, California is threatening to ban any written material deemed 'oppositional to authority and society.'"
• Deaf inmate sues Oregon prison system for not providing sign-language interpreters—Instead, the Department of Corrections "required Mr. VanValkenburg to train inmates to act as interpreters for him, who were unqualified and failed to keep Mr. VanValkenburg's information confidential."
• Texas inmates sue over lack of air conditioning
• Georgia Police Left Two Teenagers In A Holding Cell With No Lights Or Food For An Entire Weekend
• Prisoners freed after cops struggle with new records software—"Officers didn't get enough training on the new system, which went live June 1, according to Dallas's police chief."
• Modern-Day Slavery in America's Prison Workforce—"Why can't we embrace the idea that prisoners have labor rights?"
• Even America's most liberal states imprison more people than nearly any other country in the world
• This Is How Much More States Spend On Prisoners Than On Students

Death Penalty

• Is It Legal to Try Executing Someone Twice?—"The Ohio Supreme Court will decide whether Romell Broom should be put to death—again."
• Texas execution appeal on drug secrecy grounds rejected by US supreme court—"Robert James Campbell's attorneys had demanded Texas officials disclose the source of drugs intended to execute him."
• Autopsy Shows Just How Royally Oklahoma Screwed Up Clayton Lockett's Execution—"Preliminary findings suggest the inmate's executioners had no clue what they were doing."

Innocence

• Man who served 26 years in prison in arson case is suing Ionia police, prosecutor—"The lawsuit says the defendants conspired to create a false case ...."
• 5 Exonerated in Central Park Jogger Case Will Settle Suit for $40 Million—"The five men whose convictions in the brutal 1989 beating and rape of a female jogger in Central Park were later overturned [Salon] have agreed to a settlement of about $40 million from New York City." NYT
• Man cleared in '89 NYC killing plans $162M claim—' A man recently exonerated in a 1989 New York City killing that happened while he was visiting Disney World filed papers Tuesday outlining plans to seek $162 million from the city, one of his lawyers said." WSJ
• For a Respected Prosecutor, An Unpardonable Failure—"Evidence of a convicted murderer's possible innocence sat buried in a case file for more than two decades. Now, a prosecutor in Brooklyn will have to answer for the mistake."
• Proposed Michigan law: Pay exonerated prisoners
• When Innocent People Go To Prison, States Pay

Trial and Error

• Chemical Reaction—"[T]he high court ruled—in a unanimous exercise of comic power—that the federal government should never have been using an international chemical weapons treaty to prosecute a jealous wife in the first place."
• Marshall: The Law Is An Ass—On SCOTUSBlog's press credentials denial.
• Ex-U.S. attorney takes stand: 'I don't owe anyone $100 billion'—"Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is no stranger to the inside of a federal courtroom, but on Tuesday he found himself in an unusual position: on the witness stand testifying at a bizarre trial of a sovereign citizen follower who allegedly had tried to place a bogus $100 billion lien on his residence."
• More Time Sought for Robber Who Was Homesick for Prison
• Man Killed Hours After Jury Accidently Acquits Him—"Unable to reach a verdict, Pearson's jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty form Wednesday — despite the judge later learning jurors had actually deadlocked. After his release, Pearson, 37, went to a relative's house and within hours he was killed in a fight."
• Cleveland man collapses, dies outside courtroom after judge issues sentence
• Man curses judge and gets 364 days in jail for contempt

Law and Disorder

• Thief Forgets To Log Off Facebook After Burglarizing Home
• Woman dials 999 over ice cream sprinkles row
• Man calls for help during home invasion, gets voicemail
• 3 men escape from Canadian jail using helicopter—The Transporter unavailable for comment. Wow...
• Police Say Woman Was Strangled In Her Bathtub Soon After Posting On Facebook Picture Of A Large Amount Of Money
• Va. man dies in hole dug in sand on Outer Banks beach
• Man dies in wood chipper accident

Fuzz-y

• Woman shoots at would-be home intruders—They were allegedly impersonating the police.
• Florida man charged with impersonating cop after pulling over real detective
• Police drop case of protester arrested for impersonating a police officer while wearing a pig mask

Recording

• Putting cameras on police officers is an idea whose time has come WaPo
• Can Cop-Worn Cameras Restore Faith In New Orleans Police?
• Blast from the Past: As More Police Wear Cameras, Policy Questions Arise
• Jail video police swore 'did not exist' released in brutality complaint—"Gaps in video raise new questions about case of disabled man alleging mistreatment."
• Woman charged with wiretapping for filming cops wins $57,000 payout—"Settlement follows appeals court declaring 'First Amendment' right to record."
• New York Photojournalist Wins $200,000 Settlement from Incident Caught on this Video
• Drones in L.A.: South Bay man flies aircraft to monitor police
• Pittsburgh Investigating Officer's Violent Exchange At Gay Pride Event
• Facebook Video Shows Cops Grab Man's Camera, Assault Him and his 58-Year-Old Mother
• Woman Attacks Man for Flying Camera Drone over Public Beach in Connecticut—And gets caught lying about the attack but charges may be dropped.
• Video: Toddler Tries To Stop Attack On Mother—Was the fight over a guy?

War on Terror, Iraq'd, Middle East, Bergdahl; DTA: Vice City, Shootings, Guns; Police State, Warrantless Tracking, Militarization, M.I.C.; Your Rights Online, Journalism and Transparency; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy

War on Terror

• "Extremely Troubling" Documents Show How Obama Administration Embraced Foreign Detention of Terror Suspects—"Changes made to a key FBI interrogation manual highlight the bureau's increasing focus on questioning suspects—including Americans—in overseas prisons."
• UK: Fully secret terror trial blocked by Court of Appeal
• Cover-Up in Guantanamo: Torturing to Death, Hiding and Fabricating Evidence, and Calling it Suicide
• American exceptionalism and American innocence: The misleading history and messages of the 9/11 Memorial Museum—"The 9/11 Memorial gets grief profoundly. But the museum cynically exploits tragedy, confuses history with ideology." Salon
• TSA 'Abusively and Arbitrarily' Using Security Designation to Hide Information
• 7 years later, Blackwater guards go on trial—For killing 14 Iraqi civilians.

Iraq'd

• Arms Windfall for Insurgents as Iraq City Falls—"Weapons provided by the United States to help Iraqi forces battle militants are now in the hands of the militants." NYT
• ISIS just stole $425 million, Iraqi governor says, and became the 'world's richest terrorist group' WaPo
• Extremists in Iraq now control the country's rivers
• Iraq, Sunnis, and Shiites: The U.S. should never have withdrawn its troops in 2011
• The Fall of Mosul and the False Promises of Modern History—"Ironically, by invading, occupying, weakening and looting Iraq, Bush and Cheney brought al-Qaeda into the country and so weakened it as to allow it actually to take and hold territory in our own time."
• Iran Deploys Quds Forces To Support Iraqi Troops, Helps Retake Most Of Tikrit
• Iraq conflict: Sistani issues Shia call to arms
• Russia on Iraq: 'We told you so' WaPo
• On Iraq, let's ignore those who got it all wrong WaPo
• Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies—"First Crimea, now Iraq. Why does America's $50 billion intelligence community keep getting taken by surprise?" FP

Middle East

• Nato forces kill five US troops in Afghanistan—"Five American soldiers have been killed accidentally by their own side in southern Afghanistan, US military sources have confirmed."
• U.S. arms could create Syria 'warlords', rebel commander says
• Taliban gunmen attack Karachi airport academy in second assault

Bergdahl

• FBI: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's parents have received threats
• Bergdahl describes harsh treatment, solitary confinement: U.S. officials
• U.S. deaths in Afghanistan may have only tenuous link to Bergdahl
• Juan Williams Slams GOP Who 'Flip-Flopped' On Bergdahl In 'Most Craven Way'
• Maddow Calls Out Republicans Who Left Bergdahl Briefing Early
• The Right Didn't Mind When Bush Paid a Ransom to Terrorists
• Benghazi, Bowe Bergdahl, and manufactured brouhaha Boston Globe
• Stephen Colbert skewers 'Bergdghazi,' elbows Fox News WaPo

DTA: Vice City

• Police Ambushed in Las Vegas; 5 Dead
• Report: Vegas Shooters Planned To Take Over Courthouse, Execute Officials
• How much does right-wing rhetoric contribute to right-wing terrorism? WaPo
• Why not call the Las Vegas attack an act of domestic terrorism?—"'Terrorism' is an overused word that tends to obscure more than it reveals. But the reluctance to use it to describe the Las Vegas attackers is troubling."
• Home-Grown, Right-Wing Terrorism: The Hate the GOP Refuses to See—"As the Las Vegas shootings show, right-wing extremism is real and on the rise. But for Republicans, better to focus on the Muslims."
• If the Las Vegas Killers Were Muslims, We'd Call Them Terrorists—"But should we?"
• Facebook Posts Reveal Vegas Shooter Thought Bundy Ranch Was 'Start Of Revolution'
• Hatriot Politics Created the Las Vegas Killers—"Jerad and Amanda Miller, the Wingnuts whose killing spree left two policemen, a civilian, and themselves dead, were inspired by fright-wing radio hosts and militia movement groups."
• Inside the Unraveling of Las Vegas Shooting Spree Suspect Jerad Miller—"In comments on the conspiracy-peddling website Infowars, he revealed the deeply personal roots of his hatred of government."
• Did the Las Vegas Shooting Suspects Obtain Their Guns on Facebook?

Shootings

• Guns after Elliot Rodger: Businesses like Chipotle and Sonic are our best hope for gun control
• Sun News Network will not use New Brunswick killer's name—"We will not help give this killer his blaze of glory."
• Jim Rubens says armed civilians drastically reduce casualties during mass shootings—Politifact says: False.
• Obama: 'We Should Be Ashamed' Of Failure To Address Gun Violence
• When did mass shootings become so frighteningly mundane in America?
• Jon Stewart Rips The Public's Apathy Over Gun Violence

Guns

• Fearing Rising Backlash, NRA Urges Gun Activists to Stand Down—"Carrying assault rifles into restaurants backfired—and now the gun lobby is firing at its own for acting 'downright weird.'" Update: That didn't last long, but the group stopped bringing guns to Target.
• More Guns Equal More Deaths, Study Finds
• Neighbor, 61, pulls gun on father teaching girl to ride bike
• Alabama Gun Rights Supporter Brings Loaded Pistol To Polls
• Suicide Is Leading Cause Of Gun Deaths, But Largely Absent In Debate On Gun Violence

Police State

• Pentagon preparing for mass civil breakdown—"Social science is being militarised to develop 'operational tools' to target peaceful activists and protest movements."
• How the FBI Tried to Block Martin Luther King's Commencement Speech—"The untold story of a government plot, a maverick college president, and the most important figure of the civil rights era."
• "Guantánamo North" – NDAA Indefinite Detention Coming Soon to a Town Near You?

Warrantless Tracking

• In major privacy ruling, court says police need warrant to track phone users' location
• Is Chicago using cell tracking devices? One man tries to find out—"Lawyer: Chicago police 'has a history of doing some questionable surveillance.'"
• Local cops in 15 US states confirmed to use cell tracking devices—"Stingray use is widespread: Baltimore, Chicago, and even Anchorage have them."
• U.S. pushing local cops to stay mum on cellular surveillance

Militarization

• Police officer safety or surplus zeal: Military equipment spurs debate
• War Gear Flows to Police Departments—"Former tools of combat — M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, silencers and more — are ending up in the armories of local police departments, often with little public notice." NYT
• Indiana Sheriff Justifies Military Surplus Purchases By Saying America 'Has Become A War Zone'
• 500 American Communities Are Now Armed With Military Tanks and Military Vehicles, and Have Reportedly Lied on Their Applications to Get Them for Free
• The Battlefield War Games Series Embraces Police Militarization
• London mayor offers to be blasted by water cannon—"London Mayor Boris Johnson offered on Wednesday to be sprayed by water cannon to demonstrate that they are safe, after buying the riot control equipment for the capital despite having no permission to use it."

M.I.C.

• 25 Year Old Fraudulent Pentagon Contracting Program Exposed—"Some of the biggest names in the defense and aerospace industry were allowed to circumvent federal law that required small business contracting goals be achieved."
• Buying single-engine F-35s for Canada a 'serious mistake': report—"Michael Byers's One Dead Pilot report urges government to look at 2-engine options to replace CF-18s."
• Why are countries still using the fake bomb detectors sold by a convicted British conman?—"Pakistani security personnel still guard Karachi's Jinnah airport using versions of Jim McCormick's phoney bomb detector. They are not alone in having a seemingly unshakeable belief in the ADE 651."

Your Rights Online

• Canada: Cyberbullying law would let police 'remotely hack into computers, mobile devices, or cars'
• Facebook Under Fire for Temporarily Blocking Pages in Pakistan—"Citing pressure from the Pakistani government, Facebook said it blocked left-wing political pages and a popular rock band, Laal, whose members spoke out against Taliban." NYT
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• Man arrested for parodying mayor on Twitter files civil rights lawsuit—"Police raid follows mayor being upset over the portrayal of him as drug abuser."
• Canada: Top court rules search warrant needed to access Internet information
• Google will flag search results erased due to "right to be forgotten"—"Wikipedia founder: 'Suppression of knowledge' is a 'terrible danger.'"

Journalism and Transparency

• Why It Shouldn't Be Criminal to Report Government Secrets—"Prosecuting journalists imposes huge costs, yields scant benefits, and is mostly pointless in an era when anyone can reach a mass audience."
• Sheriff calls Homeland Security on man requesting public records
• ACLU: Secrecy is a Cancer on Our Democracy
• Why we're suing the CIA—"After 10,000 requests, MuckRock launches its first lawsuit."
• Clever piece of code exposes hidden changes to Supreme Court opinions

NSA Spying

• Al Gore: Snowden Revealed Crimes 'Way More Serious' Than Any He Committed—"Former vice president says NSA overreach poses 'a threat to democracy.'"
• Former NSA chief calls Snowden 'he who will not be named'
• Inside Edward Snowden's Life as a Robot
• Darrell Issa: James Clapper lied to Congress about NSA and should be fired WaPo
• Former NSA director backs House bill to rein in spy agency
• NSA: Our systems are so complex we can't stop them from deleting data wanted for lawsuit WaPo
• ACLU: Too Big To Comply? NSA Says It's Too Large, Complex to Comply With Court Order
• If The NSA's System Is Too Big To Comply With Court Orders, Court Should Require It To Change Its System
• Eric Cantor's loss is bad news for the NSA—"The Tea Party candidate who just toppled the House Majority Leader is a skeptic of NSA spying."

Surveillance and Privacy

• FBI embracing facial recognition to "find bad guys"—"Director wavered when asked if database would store drivers' license photos."
• Microsoft fights U.S. search warrant for customer e-mails held in overseas server
• Web giants encrypt their services—but leaks remain—"Ars surveys SSL use at major cloud providers and finds some holes."
• To defeat encryption, feds deploy the subpoena—"Drop boxes, secured or not, are all the post-Snowden rage and ripe for subpoenas."
• Post-Snowden China looks to 'hack-proof' quantum communications—"The holy grail of data encryption should, in theory, be safe from prying eyes." SCMP

Normandy Landings 70th Anniversary; War on Terror, Domestic Threats, Bergdahl, Guantánamo, Iraq, Israel and Palestine; Veterans; Snowden, NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, Civil Liberties, Journalism and Press Freedom, Police State, Civil Forfeiture

Normandy Landings 70th Anniversary

• D-Day 70th anniversary: World leaders gather for ceremony
• Normandy D-Day landing sites: Then & Now
• 93-year-old WWII vet to parachute into Normandy —again
• Pensioner who hid medals and absconded from care home found at D-Day celebrations in France—"The 89-year old was reported missing from his Hove care home but actually sneaked onboard a coach for a final reunion with his D-Day comrades across the Channel."

War on Terror

• Chiquita Is Blocking a 9/11 Victims' Bill—"For years, the conglomerate paid off Colombian militias. So it's no wonder the company is now furiously lobbying to stop a bill that would make it easier to sue terror financiers."
• CIA drone strikes: embarrassment for US as Pakistan court orders murder investigation—"Campaigners say court decision could open floodgates to more criminal cases against controversial strikes and call for international arrest warrant against American spy."
• US confirms Syria suicide bomber was American
• CBS' Lara Logan problem: Why is disgraced reporter returning to "60 Minutes"?—"Months after Logan's discredited Benghazi report shamed the network, CBS gives her another shot." Salon
• Zakaria: What next for Afghanistan?
• Former NSA Director: 'An attack is going to come'

Domestic Threats

• Holder announces task force on 'homegrown' terrorists
• Boston: Man charged with obstructing bombing probe
• Right-wing Extremism in the United States
• America, Worry About Your Own 'Terrorists'

Bergdahl

• Bowe Bergdahl, American Soldier, Freed by Taliban in Prisoner Trade NYT
• What do we know about Bowe Bergdahl's disappearance?
• Republicans Frantically Scrub Their Praise Of Bowe Bergdahl
• Oliver North Of All People Blasts Obama For Financing Terrorist Orgs In Bergdahl Swap
• GOP Congressman Criticizes Own Party Over Bowe Bergdahl Response
• McChrystal on Bergdahl: 'We don't leave Americans behind. That's unequivocal'
• Brooks: President Obama Was Right—"National solidarity is essential to the health of the country. And President Obama’s prisoner swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl nurtured that sentiment." NYT

Guantánamo

• What Excuse Remains for Obama's Failure to Close GITMO?
• Official: US Moving Ahead With Guantanamo Closure
• U.S. expects more Guantanamo transfers despite Bergdahl controversy
• Guantánamo inmate makes new force-feeding complaint after judge's ruling

Iraq

• Iraq war costs U.S. more than $2 trillion: study
• Full account of Tony Blair's exchanges with George Bush on Iraq war to be kept secret—"Gists of Tony Blair's conversations with George Bush to be published while former US President's views will remain secret, Chilcot Inquiry told."
• Deadly fighting breaks out in Iraq's Mosul

Israel and Palestine

• Israel 'deeply disappointed' with US—"The Israeli ambassador to the United States late Monday slammed the Obama administration for its willingness to work with the new Palestinian unity government formed earlier that day."
• India, China and Turkey endorse Palestinian unity government—"All three powers call on international community to support Fatah-Hamas unity government, breaking ranks from Israel."
• Angered by Palestinian unity gov't, Israel to build more settler homes
• Israeli doctors refuse to force-feed Palestinian prisoners, despite govt pressure

Veterans

• Republicans refuse to fund the VA
• Veterans Group Targets Mitch McConnell, Richard Burr In New Ad Campaign
• Senators reach bipartisan deal on VA health care —Still up for a vote.

Snowden

• Edward Snowden, a year on: reformers frustrated as NSA preserves its power—"A year ago, Edward Snowden exposed the NSA's widespread surveillance practices. Privacy advocates demanded a change in the law – but today, the agency's powers remain largely intact."
• Four ways Edward Snowden changed the world – and why the fight's not over
• Snowden showed us just how big the panopticon really was. Now it's up to us
• You Can Fight the NSA—"Edward Snowden wants Internet users to make surveillance too expensive for the government."
• Most Americans Think Snowden Did the Right Thing, Poll Says
• NSA chief Michael Rogers: Edward Snowden 'probably not' a foreign spy—"New NSA director plays down speculation that 'our gentleman in Moscow' was working for a foreign intelligence agency."
• 'New York Times' Editor: Losing Snowden Scoop 'Really Painful'—That's what they get for submerging an NSA story before the 2004 elections that literally could have changed history.
• The media genius of Edward Snowden—Greenwald shows the mainstream media's vilification in action.

NSA Spying

• On 6/5, 65 Things We Know About NSA Surveillance That We Didn't Know a Year Ago
• The NSA knew our secrets. One year later, we know theirs.
• Germany investigates alleged NSA Merkel phone tap WaPo
• Another federal judge rules on legality of NSA surveillance WaPo
• No worries: NSA chief says facial recognition program is totally legal—"'We do not do this in some unilateral basis against US citizens,' NSA chief says."
• Mathematicians Urge Colleagues To Refuse To Work For The NSA
• There's A Huge New Snowden Leak -- And No One Knows Where It Came From—"On Tuesday, news site The Register published a story containing explosive 'above top secret' information about Britain's surveillance programs including details of a "clandestine British base tapping undersea cables in the Middle East."
• DOJ Admits It's Still Destroying Evidence In NSA Case; Judge Orders Them (Again) To Stop; DOJ Flips Out

Surveillance and Privacy

• New Whistleblower Organization Launched on Anniversary of Snowden Revelations—"Former whistleblowers Radack, Wiebe, Coleman-Adebayo and Ellsberg speak out at the launch of ExposeFacts.org, a US-based independent media organization that encourages whistleblowers to expose government and corporate malfeasance."
• Guardian launches SecureDrop system for whistleblowers to share files—"SecureDrop platform allows sources to submit documents and data while avoiding most common forms of online tracking."
• NSA-Proof Server Protonet Smashes Crowdfunding Record by Raising $1m in 89 Minutes
• Polish NGO to Obama: Mass Surveillance Is Not Freedom
• Vodafone reveals existence of secret wires that allow state surveillance—"Wires allow agencies to listen to or record live conversations, in what privacy campaigners are calling a 'nightmare scenario.'"
• German intelligence agency confesses to spy stations—"Federal Intelligence Service attaches its logo to sites after amateur investigators post locations online."

Civil Liberties

• Secret terror trial is threat to open justice, human rights campaigners warn—"Trial of two men charged with terrorism offences could be heard entirely behind closed doors for first time in modern UK history."
• Life sentences for serious cyberattacks are proposed in Queen's speech—"Any cyberattackers who cause 'loss of life, serious injury or damage to national security' could face full sentence."
• Federal agency seeks to widen surveillance beyond Idle No More to any demonstrators in Canada
• Deutsche Telekom, Hungarian government collude to silence independent media
• Nine 'terrorists' sentenced to death in China—"The 29 cases were processed according to new rules calling on state prosecutors to complete terror-related investigations within 24 hours, the report said."
• Thai police: We'll 'get you' for junta criticism—"Thai police warned online critics of the military junta Friday that they will "come get you" for posting political views that could incite divisiveness, the latest reminder about surveillance of social media in post-coup Thailand." WaPo

Journalism and Press Freedom

• Supreme Court rejects effort to compel FoxNews.com reporter to reveal sources
• Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Times Reporter Over Refusal to Identify Source—"The order gave no reasons for the decision but effectively sided with the government in a case involving James Risen of The New York Times, who has said he has no intention of complying with the subpoena." NYT
• The House Passes a Journalism Shield Law and Nobody Notices

Police State

• ACLU: Judge Releases Information about Police Use of Stingray Cell Phone Trackers
• LAPD adds drones to arsenal, says they'll be used sparingly
• Widespread US Police Surveillance Is Happening In Total Secrecy
• U.S. Marshals Seize Local Cops' Cell Phone Tracking Files in Extraordinary Attempt to Keep Information From Public

Civil Forfeiture

• Former Brooklyn DA Accused of Misusing Over One Million Dollars in Asset Forfeiture—"Former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes may now face felony larceny charges. In 85 percent of cases pursued by the NYPD, the owners are never charged with a crime."
• Cops In Texas Seize Millions By "Policing for Profit"
• Charges dismissed, but $200K still in custody—"The strange journey of the $200 grand in the silver attaché case began when drug investigators raided a Minneapolis tobacco shop."
• The cash smelled like pot, so the feds kept it

War on Drugs, 420; Police State, Bad Cops, Brutality, Don't Tase Me, Bro; Law and Disorder, Trial and Error, Innocence, Prison, Death Penalty, Guns, Recording; Ticket, Road Rage

War on Drugs

• Toddler critically burned during SWAT raid—"Phonesavanh told Young the grenade landed in the child's crib, and she showed him a photo of a charred portable crib."
• Federal judges challenging stings as 'fictitious crime'—"Two federal judges have ruled that widely used sting operations designed to ensnare suspects with the promise of a huge payday for robbing an imaginary drug stash house are so 'outrageous' that they are also unconstitutional. One judge said the charges were so unfair that he threw them out after three suspects already pleaded guilty."
• NYPD Still Making Thousands Of Marijuana Arrests, And One Lawmaker Has Had Enough
• Despite new law, pot arrests still likelier than fines—"New study shows state, Chicago inconsistent in enforcing tickets and fines for holding small amounts of cannabis. 98.7% of marijuana arrests involved simple possession.
• Texas man facing possible life sentence for pot brownies
• N.D.Ga.: Court doesn't buy officer testimony they smelled marijuana; search suppressed
• Today's Heroin Addict Is Young, White And Suburban—Wrong color to arrest?

420

• House Votes To End DEA Raids On Legal Medical Marijuana Operations—"'Marijuana does not make people commit crime. It makes them overeat,' Rep. Steve Cohen said. The amendment passed 219-189." Next step is the Senate.
• Illinois House Approves Medical Cannabis for Epileptic Kids
• Legal marijuana created thousands of jobs in Colorado
• The FBI Is Struggling to Hire Hackers Who Don't Smoke Weed
• FBI Director: Don't Let Weed Stop You from Applying to the FBI—It's a trap!
• Apple pulls popular weed-growing game from App Store
• One Direction Stars Smoke Joint, World Keeps Spinning

Police State

• City of Aurora, Police Sued for 'More-Than-Two-Hour Mass Roundup' of Innocent People in Search for Bank Robber
• Pennsylvania cops don't need a warrant to search your car? That's a problem
• 7th Circuit upholds warrantless entry, seizure of gun rights activist
• In Complaint, Activists Seek Audit of New York Police Surveillance—"After reports that the Police Department secretly monitored political groups, several are requesting a review of its intelligence-gathering operations." NYT
• Another Bogus Hit From A License Plate Reader Results In Another Citizen Surrounded By Cops With Guns Out
• Police use cellphone spying device
• Root backdoor found in surveillance gear used by law enforcement—"Vulnerability one of nine critical weaknesses from lawful intercept provider."
• OKC police, FBI, Homeland Security raid SW OKC home—Warranted a trifecta.
• Where did $1 million of seized money go?—"San Diego Police Department is looking for the funds, missing from records."
• Banned, On the Run—"Baltimore Police freeze out a Sun reporter; Sun management follows suit."

Bad Cops

• $650G for New York woman mistakenly shot by police—"A county police officer shot the Hempstead woman in the chest after bursting into the wrong apartment while hunting for drug dealing suspects."
• Police must ID officers in on-duty shootings, court rules—"Police agencies must reveal the names of officers involved in on-duty shootings unless there is specific evidence that disclosure would pose a safety threat, the California Supreme Court decided Thursday."
• Cleveland police officer to be suspended for inappropriate behavior —Issued citation to get woman's personal information.
• Man in Pig Mask Arrested for Impersonating Police Officer
• Woman Sues City After Chicago Police Officer Shoots, Kills Puppy
• Tupac's final words revealed by police officer on scene of murder
• Co-owner of restaurant tells 911 not to send police
• Officer Arrested After Holding Gun To 5 Year Old's Head
• Miami Gardens 'Stop & Frisk' Nabs Thousands of Kids, Finds 5-Year-Olds 'Suspicious'—"Stop and Frisk quota policy at Miami Gardens Police Department results in over 99-thousand stops in a city of 110-thousand people."

Brutality

• Albuquerque Police Face Federal Scrutiny, Local Outrage
• Autopsy: James Boyd was shot in the back and arms—"Boyd's family suing Albuquerque."
• Seattle Police Say Force Policies Unconstitutional—"Dozens of Seattle police officers have filed a federal civil rights complaint against city and federal officials, saying use-of-force polices are restricting their constitutional rights to protect themselves."
• State trooper convicted of official oppression for illegal searches—"Ex-trooper pleads guilty to official oppression for cavity searches on 2 female motorists."
• Jury weighs police pepper spray that blinded woman
• Victim's friend called 911 before beating to complain of harassment by off-duty cops, sources say
• BPD officers allegedly shot teen with BB gun
• I was the victim of police brutality: How I survived my brush with death—"In 2010, Chicago police officers viciously attacked me. The incident haunted me — and then I made a discovery." Salon

Don't Tase Me, Bro

• Teen Treated At Local Hospital Dies After Being Tased By Police
• Supreme Court vacates police-immunity ruling in suit over multiple Tasering
• Cops Used TASER Several Times On Mentally Ill Man, Family Says
• Suit: Officer Instructed 'Tase The Bitch' During Deadly Beating

Law and Disorder

• Cal graduate sues In-N-Out over spilled coffee—Restaurant claims company policy not to call 911.
• Woman's Story in Fatal S.C. Shooting Was a Lie: Deputies—"A South Carolina woman lied to investigators about the death of a friend who she said asked her to shoot him to test his bulletproof vest, sheriff's deputies said Friday."
• French father tried for ordering daughter's killer kidnapped from Germany
• Indian woman pushed off train to her death—"The woman's two children boarded the air-conditioned coach then the conductor told the woman her tickets entitled them to travel only in a cheaper coach...."
• Southern California city drops bill against Sriracha hot sauce plant

Trial and Error

• New York Federal Judge: Tens Of Thousands Of Innocent People Have Likely Pleaded Guilty—"A prominent New York federal judge said this week that a broken guilty plea system is sending too many people innocent people to prison, coerced by the threat of long prison sentences and not enough information."
• Final Word on U.S. Law Isn't: Supreme Court Keeps Editing—"The Supreme Court has been quietly revising its decisions years after they were issued, a secretive process that has led judges, lawyers and scholars astray." NYT
• Arrestee alleges government misconduct; federal magistrate orders arrestee to apologize and recant, as a condition of bail —How is this not a miscarriage of justice? WaPo
• N.C. judge overturns Darryl Howard conviction, finds prosecutor misconduct by Mike Nifong—"Ruling comes as new book tries to rehabilitate Mike Nifong's reputation." WaPo
• Italy: Murder trial is suspended after judge spots court staff having sex

Innocence

• Innocent man cleared after serving 10 years as 'Bronx rapist'
• New York prosecutor to re-examine 90 convictions—"Fueled by the freeing of a prison inmate who claimed a detective framed him in a 1990 murder, the Brooklyn district attorney's office has undertaken one of the nation's most ambitious efforts to revisit cases of people put behind bars decades ago to determine whether they were wrongly convicted."
• Man freed after wrongful murder conviction earns law degree

Prison

• End Mass Incarceration Now—"The American experiment in locking up vast numbers of citizens has been a moral, legal, social and economic disaster. It cannot end soon enough." NYT
• Punitive damages—"Q&A on the economic and social costs of rising U.S. incarcerations, despite dipping crime rates."
• $25M lawsuit for inmate who 'baked to death' in New York prison—"Mother of Jerome Murdough, mentally ill homeless veteran found dead in overheated jail cell, filing wrongful death lawsuit."
• Miami Herald: Allegations Of Abuse Of Mentally-Ill In Florida Prison—"A 50-year-old mentally ill inmate at the Dade Correctional Institution, Rainey was pulled into the locked shower by prison guards" and "was left there unattended for more than an hour…. When guards finally checked on prisoner 060954, he was on his back and dead. His skin was so burned that it had shriveled from his body…."
• Inmate in solitary confinement says jail ignored birth, leading to baby's death
• Invasive airport body scanners have found a new home at US prisons

Death Penalty

• U.S. Supreme Court justice halts Missouri execution at 11th hour
• U.S. top court rules for Florida death row inmate over IQ test—"The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a death sentence for a Florida man in a decision that found the state's method for assessing whether defendants are mentally disabled was unconstitutional."
• Judges Orders Temporary Halt to Ohio Executions
• Tennessee to use electric chair when lethal drugs unavailable
• Firing squad or poison gas: America hunts for new death penalty

Guns

• The NRA has been blocking a nominee for surgeon general since February
• NRA lobbying led to law that stopped CDC from using federal funds to study gun violence
• AZ Candidate Apologizes For Saying Shootings Are Committed By Dems
• Detroit's top cop defends NRA article on deadly force
• Maryland police mistake pellet gun for assault rifle, kill man
• Colorado: Thornton pays $25,000 to man arrested for openly carrying firearm into Cinnebarre Theater
• Chipotle: Don't bring guns in our stores
• Gun Activists Flaunting Assault Rifles Get Booted From Chili's and Sonic

Recording

• Court upholds "First Amendment" right to film police—"Ruling is one of many nationwide supporting right to record police."
• Chicago cops physically, verbally abuse woman on video
• Ohio woman injured, charged after deputy pries open her mouth to retrieve Tylenol
• Cali. officer threatens illegal car search: "Doesn't mean I can use what I find but I can do it."
• Youtube Video Leads to Exposure of Police Coverup in Florida Beating Death—"Key West police not only tried to have his body cremated without an autopsy, a requirement for all in-custody deaths, they waited four days to notify his family that he was clinging to life in a hospital. And when an autopsy was finally conducted, it was discovered he had suffered from ten broken ribs."
• Dallas cop indicted for shooting mentally ill man—"Police Chief David Brown has suggested an expansion of the use of body cameras to avoid relying solely on officers' statements in disputed situations...."
• Can Cop-Worn Cameras Restore Faith In New Orleans Police?
  
• City, Fraternal Order of Police reach agreement on use of body cameras—"In plain English this means the Grievants will no longer be required to wear the Axon body cameras."

Ticket

• Trial of former Traffic Court judges begins this week—"They and two businessmen are accused of participating in a widespread ticket-fixing scheme."
• Sheriff’s deputies at fault in 500 accidents, receive little to no punishment
• Mendham Township officer lawsuit: Illegal ticket quotas—"A 16-year officer in the Mendham Township Police Department has filed suit against the force, alleging he has been bypassed twice for promotion and denied chances to earn overtime because he refuses to 'profile' young drivers for tickets."
• No fines for DC cops running red lights
• Driverless cars could cripple law enforcement budgets—"Local government have long looked to speeding tickets to increase revenue. What will they do when autonomous cars stick to the speed limit?"
• Video: Vaga Para Deficiente (Disabled Parking Prank)—Use full screen to read the tiny subtitles. Also: Double parking douches.

Road Rage

• Blackwood man wins $1.5M settlement after Hollywood Cafe-sponsored bar crawl crash
• Drunk father accused of running from crash scene, leaving 7-year-old screaming in street
• Packed minibus filled with boiling water after 'geyser' bursts through Siberian street
• Taxi driver stiffed out of $1500 after 22-hour ride across five states
• Oregon man caused three-car crash by holding breath in tunnel