Massachusetts wants to give people of color a leg-up in the legal marijuana industry, but is off to a very slow start. Next to no black or Latino candidates have applied for licenses in the state.
Critics Say Border Wall Could Harm Wildlife Corridors And Sensitive Desert Terrain
The wall along the U.S.-Mexico border cuts across sensitive desert and mountainous terrain. But environmental regulations are waived for wall construction, raising concerns about longterm damage.
Longtime Trump Friend Under The Microscope For Mideast Ties, Inauguration Role
President Trump’s inaugural committee chair is facing scrutiny from a variety of sources. Tom Barrack is a wealthy real estate investor who helped the administration build bridges to Arab leaders.
‘Expect Change’: Robert Lighthizer Is Trump’s Hardball-Playing China Trade Negotiator
The U.S. Trade Representative has spent his career warning about the problems and perils of global trade. Now, as the chief U.S. negotiator with China, he’s in a position to do something about it.
Hollywood Diversity Report Finds Progress, But Much Left To Gain
The annual UCLA study tallies box office numbers and ratings alongside diversity both on and off screen. Today’s “increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film and television content,” it finds.
New York City Admits Defrauding FEMA Out Of Millions After Superstorm Sandy
The city sought reimbursement for vehicles it said were damaged by Sandy. But many of them were already “junk” years before the storm, according to a settlement.
House Democrats Plan Resolution Challenging Trump’s Emergency Declaration
The Democratic majority is likely to approved the resolution and then the law says the Republican-controlled Senate would have to consider the measure too.
Arrested Coast Guard Officer Allegedly Planned Attack ‘On A Scale Rarely Seen’
Christopher Paul Hasson, a self-proclaimed white nationalist, allegedly wanted to “kill every last person on earth” in a crusade to establish a “white homeland,” according to officials.
After Delay, Michael Cohen To Testify On Capitol Hill Next Week
President Trump’s former lawyer is scheduled to appear Feb. 27 before the House oversight committee. Members of Congress are expected to ask him about hush money payments ahead of Election Day 2016.
#MeToo Graffiti Scrubbed From Sarasota V-J Day Kissing Statue
A towering statue depicting the famed embrace between a sailor and a woman in white, celebrating the end of World War II, has become an unwelcome symbol of assault to some.
Russia Moves To Mask Military Trail By Telling Troops To Put Down Smartphones
Russian lawmakers have passed a bill restricting social media and smartphone use by service members.
‘Empire’ Actor Jussie Smollett Charged With Filing False Police Report
The actor had reported being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Prosecutors say that report was not true.
Trade Talks With China Continue, As Trump Shies From A Hard Deadline For A Deal
March 1 “is not a magical date,” President Trump said this week, about his self-imposed deadline when tariffs would spike. Whether a deal will resolve key structural issues isn’t clear.
3 Conservative Politicians Abandon Party For Britain’s Fledgling ‘Independent Group’
“The hard-line, the anti-EU awkward squad that have destroyed every leader for the last 40 years are now running the Conservative party from top to toe,” lawmaker Anna Soubry said Wednesday.
Covington Catholic Teen Nick Sandmann Sues ‘Washington Post’ For $250 Million
His family says the newspaper targeted the student and defamed him for political purposes after the release of a video that appeared to show a standoff between him and a Native American activist.
Supreme Court Limits Civil Asset Forfeiture, Rules Excessive Fines Apply To States
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion and announced it on just her second day back at court after surgery for lung cancer late last year.
Southwest Grounds Planes, Blames Labor Dispute With The Union
The carrier says the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association “has a history of work disruptions.” The union says the airline is “scapegoating” its technicians.
When Nazis Took Manhattan
In 1939, an event at Madison Square Garden was billed as a “Pro American Rally.” It was, in fact, a rally in support of Hitler and fascism.
‘Surviving R. Kelly’ Producer Dream Hampton Takes On Ecosystem That Supported The Star
The activist, filmmaker and writer chronicles sexual abuse allegations against R. Kelly in the six-part docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, even as new allegations against him surface.
Arrest Of Heavily Armed Former U.S. Military Members In Haiti Sparks Many Questions
“They said that they were here on a ‘government mission,’ ” Miami Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles told NPR from Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.
U.S. Hate Groups Rose 30 Percent In Recent Years, Watchdog Group Reports
The Southern Poverty Law Center says many groups are driven by white supremacist ideology and the “hysteria over losing a white-majority nation.” Critics accuse the group of overblowing the threat.
EXCLUSIVE: Aspen Words Literary Prize Unveils Its Finalists
Five books remain in the running: Tommy Orange’s There There; Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage; David Chariandy’s Brother; Jennifer Clement’s Gun Love; and Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
As Pope Holds Sex Abuse Summit, U.S. Catholics Not Hopeful For ‘Bold Moves’
American Catholics have become disappointed as Pope Francis described the meeting as featuring “prayer and discernment” — hardly an ambitious vision for what could have been a momentous event.
Supreme Court Blocks Texas From Executing Mentally Disabled Man
Justices criticized a state appeals court for using outdated medical standards when it determined that a murderer wasn’t intellectually disabled and could therefore be executed.
In Garlic Capital, Tariffs And Immigration Crackdown Have Mixed Impacts
Gilroy, Calif., is known as the garlic capital of the world. Two Trump administration policies — one on trade, the other on immigration — are affecting the town in starkly different ways.
Russia Intelligence Seeks To Extend Detention Of Ex-U.S. Marine Accused Of Spying
Michigan resident Paul Whelan has been held in a Russian prison since he was arrested in December on suspicion of spying. His family says he was just attending a friend’s wedding in Moscow.
Insurers Hand Out Cash and Gifts To Sway Brokers Who Sell Employer Health Plans
Independent brokers help employers choose health benefits for their staff but are paid by the health insurance industry, creating financial incentives to sell more without regard to cost.
‘You Get Paid For Doing Therapy’: Stand-Up Comedians On Anger
For centuries, people have turned to jesters for relief from the miseries of life. As it turns out, some stand-up performers turn pain and rage into their own coping and catharsis.
Plotted From A Prison Cot, Wrongly Accused Man Whips Smoothie Dream Into Reality
As an exoneree, Mark Schand did not qualify for job training, tuition help or other re-entry services offered to people on parole. But he did fight for, and receive, monetary compensation.
Scientists Release Controversial Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In High-Security Lab
The insects were created, using CRISPR, to carry a powerful “gene drive.” The mosquitoes could provide a potent weapon against malaria, but they raise fears about unpredictable environmental effects.
British Woman Who Joined ISIS In Syria As Teen Is Stripped Of U.K. Citizenship
Shamima Begum, 19, left England in 2015. Now she is a married mother and living in a refugee camp. Begum says she wants to come home, but the U.K. government doesn’t want her back.
Trump Threatens To Cancel California’s $929 Million High-Speed Rail Grant
The president is in a Twitter war with Gov. Gavin Newsom over the project and the president’s emergency declaration to build a border wall.
Burberry Apologizes For Nooselike Knot On Fashion Hoodie
A runway model who objected to the impression made by the drawstring says she was initially told to “keep it to yourself.”
Chinese ‘Ivory Queen’ Sentenced To 15 Years In Jail In Tanzania
Yang Fenglan, who has lived in Tanzania on and off for decades and operated a Chinese restaurant, was found guilty of working with two Tanzanian men to smuggle more than 800 pieces of ivory.
Publisher Of An Alabama Newspaper Calls For The KKK To ‘Clean Out’ Washington
“We’ll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them,” said Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Democrat-Reporter, after admitting he wrote an incendiary editorial.
Seeking To Bounce Back From Nassar Fallout, USA Gymnastics Names New President
Li Li Leung, a former gymnastics competitor, will now head an organization in turmoil, as USA Gymnastics seeks to recover from its widespread sex abuse scandal.