In the months following the October 2001, passage of the Patriot Act, there was a heated public debate about the very provision of the law that we now know the government is using to vacuum up phone records of American citizens on a massive scale. Instead, the debate centered on something else: library records.... Read more»
Most of the attention in the current gun debate has been focused on congressional action (or inaction) on legislation designed to protect public safety by preventing dangerous individuals from having easy access to guns. There is much that can be done outside of Congress, however, to help strengthen oversight of the gun industry, enhance law-enforcement investigations of gun-related crime, and make it more difficult for criminals to get guns.... Read more»
Last week saw revelations that the FBI and the National Security Agency have been collecting Americans’ phone records en masse and that the agencies have access to data from nine tech companies. But secrecy around the programs has meant even basic questions are still unanswered. Here’s what we still don’t know.... Read more»
Since 9/11, the government has been collecting enormous amounts of information on citizens. But most of the data grabbing is done in secret. What do we know about what the government knows? Here’s our reading guide to the government’s growing surveillance.... Read more»
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, who signed an order requiring Verizon to give the National Security Agency telephone records for tens of millions of American customers, attended an expense-paid judicial seminar sponsored by a libertarian think tank that featured lectures from a vocal proponent of executive branch powers.... Read more»
The National Security Agency and the FBI are conducting surveillance of Americans’ telephone and internet communications activities. And some people are surprised.... Read more»1
A man shot and killed during FBI questioning in Orlando, Fla. allegedly had ties to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the dead suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, sources said Wednesday.... Read more»
Many public health experts say the administration deserves credit for increasing access to drug treatment. But others say despite an increase in funding for rehab, the administration has continued to push programs and policies built to punish drug users. As the administration lays out its latest plan on a new approach to drugs, here’s look at what’s in it, and what they’ve done so far.... Read more»1
Vice President Joe Biden exaggerates when he waxes nostalgic about the “good old days” — a time when “everybody, including the NRA, thought background checks made sense.” Biden’s office says he was referring to the NRA’s support for background checks in the early 1990s and its stated support for expanding background checks to include gun shows in 1999. But vice president’s sentimental journey rides roughshod over the facts.... Read more»
Six months after the shooting of Mexican teenager José Antonio Elena Rodriguez by U.S. border agents, his family and community activists in Arizona are frustrated and fear that the investigation into his death is at a standstill.... Read more»
Border news roundup: Arizona politicians and religious leaders discuss comprehensive immigration reform by the “Gang of Eight,” journalists reconsider how to address illegal immigration in their stylebooks, and safety concerns on both sides of the border.... Read more»
The head of the National Rifle Association misfires when he claims the president’s proposal to require background checks for all gun sales will result in a “massive federal registry” of firearms.... Read more»
After last month’s senseless shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut—in which 20 children and 6 adults were shot and killed—we need to immediately address the gaps in our current law that enable mass shootings, as well as the everyday shootings that on average claim the lives of 33 Americans each day.... Read more»
The mass shooting in Newtown has reignited a national debate on gun control. Some facts are clear — there has been a massive increase in gun sales. Some things are not so clear — such as whether there is causation between more guns and more violent crimes. And some are contrary to the general impression — for example, the rate of gun murders is down, not up.... Read more»
Americans tried to buy 2 million guns in November this year, according to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.... Read more»
Guns galore, inadequate checks: The background check system is supposed to keep firearms away from potentially dangerous people, but the system is plagued by data problems, loopholes and disputes over just who should be barred. “There is a problem with a system like that. It is harder for a high school kid to get a job at McDonald’s.” (with video)... Read more»1
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