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The Moment for Criminal-Justice Reform?

Russell Berman The Atlantic
With a bipartisan consensus in Congress, President Obama seeks an overhaul of the nation’s crowded, costly prison system.

Much-touted Deep-Brain-Stimulation Treatment for Depression Fails Another Trial

John Horgan Scientific American
A highly invasive procedure, which involves drilling holes in the skull and inserting electrodes deep inside the brain allowing a pacemaker-style device to deliver pulses of electricity to specific neural regions has failed to show any effectiveness in treating depression despite claims by the media and some prominent scientists.

No Accident: The Campaign to Weaken Worker Protections

Jamie Smith Hopkins Center for Public Integrity
Who's to blame for thousands of work-related deaths and illnesses each year? Big Business, Congress, the White House and federal agencies. Decades of concerted efforts to weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s authority have jammed the regulatory gears to the point that they hardly turn. Most of the agency’s exposure limits are more than 40 years old, and tens of thousands of chemicals, including many known to be hazardous, have no limits at all.

Mozambique Decriminalizes Homosexual Relationships

Milton Nkosi BBC News
Mozambique has decriminalized homosexuality, making it one of a few African countries where same-sex relationships are legal. The revised penal code, which went into force July 1st, drops a colonial-era clause outlawing so-called "vices against nature". While there were no prosecutions under that clause, gay rights activists say this change is important, coming at a time when a number of African countries are introducing new draconian laws against homosexuals.

Benghazi and Hillary: Missing The Story in the Emails

Conn Hallinan Dispatches From the Edge
There is indeed a story embedded in the controversial emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that goes beyond Republican claims of “cover-up” and Democratic dismissals of the matter as nothing more than election year politics. And that story is deeply damning of American and French actions in the Libyan civil war, from secretly funding the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi, to the willingness to use journalism as a cover for covert action.

Anti-Abortion Extremists and Domestic Terrorism

David Cohen and Krysten Connon Al Jazeera America
Anti-abortion extremism, which has created fear among providers that something violent can happen to them at any time, is domestic terrorism, according to the authors of the new book, “Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism.” Yet, anti-abortion terrorism has been almost completely absent from the renewed national conversation about domestic terrorism spurred by last month’s church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Outings, Stigmata

Francesca Bell Pank Magazine
The Marin County poet Francesca Bell approaches the abuse of children from their own perspective, as sacrilege, based on published testimonies.

Clinton to Face Grilling by Union Leaders on Trade, Economic Issues

Amanda Becker and Luciana Lopez Reuters
Leaders with the AFL-CIO, an umbrella group for 56 member unions representing more than 12.5 million workers, will press her on issues such as trade, infrastructure and the types of officials she would name to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.

Bumblebees Being Crushed by Climate Change

Cally Carswell Science
While many species are migrating toward the poles as the climate warms, many North American and European bee species are failing to colonize new habitats, according to a new study. “Climate change is crushing [bumblebee] species in a vice,” says ecologist Jeremy Kerr, the study's lead author. “There's no way you can nail a bee with neonicotinoids, invasive pathogens, and climate change and come out with a happy bee.”

U.S. Justice Department Must Investigate American Psychological Association’s Role in U.S. Torture Program

Physicians for Human Rights
A report by a former federal prosecutor, based on extensive interviews and review of internal emails and documents, has found overwhelming evidence of criminal activity by staff and officials of the American Psychological Association, including colluding with the U.S. Department of Defense, the CIA, and other elements of the Bush administration to enable psychologists to design, implement, and defend the post-9/11 torture program.