On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee passed on a 25-2 vote a revamped version of the 2014 USA Freedom Act in an attempt to discourage National Security Agency’s practices of mass-collecting data on Americans‘ phone calls.

Besides outlawing bulk collection of data, the new legislation will also extend the Patriot Act’s provisions set to expire this summer until 2019.

Jim Sensenbrenner, one of the authors of the bill and the initial drafter of the Patriot Act, said that the new law will boost NSA’s transparency without putting at risk national security.

June 1 is the final deadline when Congress can extend three provisions of the Patriot Act, which include re-authorization of the NSA’s practice to collect data on phone calls of millions of people. According to NSA, the agency doesn’t spy on Americans’ phone calls since it only collects “metadata” on their phone records such as date of phone call and the numbers involved in the conversation.

In 2014, Senate tried to pass another version of the US Freedom Act but the bill wasn’t approved by two votes. Experts claim that this year’s version of the act is somehow “diluted” from the initial one, but it does achieve two main goals of the initial act: it reforms the court that oversees NSA’s spying operations and ends once and for all bulk collection of private phone records.

For years, the agency built mass surveillance databases by reinterpreting Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The new law authorizes phone surveillance only if there is a “reasonable, articulable suspicion” that the individuals using the phone are involved in international terrorism activities. Moreover, the “specific selection term” used by the agency to define the people or group of people who will have their phones tapped increasingly limits the extent of phone data collection.

Until now a broad selection term could also refer to “residents of Ohio” or “people with Comcats phone numbers,” which allowed NSA to run mass surveillance programs. But a “specific selection term” may only point at an individual, a device or an account. So, this should end bulk collection.

On the other hand, the law fails to be more specific whenever NSA tries o collect data on other things, except phone records, such as geographic location or all the records on an internet service provider.

The new legislation also plans to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), the covert court that supervises and approves NSA’s requests. The courts will appoint five experts that would advocate for civil rights protection and instruct the court on new technologies, NSA practices or any other issues that need to be clarified by the court.

Additionally, FISA will have to make public any significant interpretations of the law or its provisions such as redefining “specific selection term.”

But despite the good news, privacy advocates argue that there is more to be done since the new law does not shield non-Americans from NSA surveillance and does not address FISA Amendments Act’s provision that enables the agency to run PRISM mass surveillance program on foreign nationals.

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Two congressional Democrats introduced Thursday a bill that would raise the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $12 by 2020 and outlaw sub-minimum wage for tipped employees. The two promoters of the bill are Rep. Robert Scott of Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District and Patty Murray, a Washington state’s senator.

The initial plan was to raise the hourly minimum wage to $10.10 to keep up with inflation, and boost the tipped minimum wage to 70 percent of the current federal minimum wage.

Sen. Murray argued that outlawing the tipped minimum wage was more than necessary to reduce the uncertainty tipped workers face in an unstable economy. The Senator from Washington believes that the move would shield this category of employees from the ups and downs of the economy and the daily stress to live on an unpredictable hourly wage. She also mentioned the Washington state as a source of inspiration for the new proposal.

Washington was also an inspiration in increasing the regular minimum wage because it has one of the highest wages in the U.S. with its $9.47 per hour. Sen. Murray said she was a strong supporter of the nationwide efforts to increase the level of the minimum wage and make the life of families that do live on minimum wage more bearable.

David Cooper, an economist from the Economic Policy Institute and a drafter of the new bill, said that a $10.10 hourly wage would be the level of the minimum wage if it would have kept up with inflation over the last 50 years. Mr. Cooper described the $10.10 wage as the minimum “possible threshold”.

However, he said that aiming for such a threshold would have been unfair for workers because their standard of living would have stayed the same in the last 50 years despite a strong economic growth and significantly increased worker productivity.

The supporters of the bill are aware that the Republican majority in Congress would not even give a chance to their proposal. But they believe that federal minimum wage should be further debated since the minimum wage needs to be returned to its level from 1968, when inflation was at its peak.

Mr. Cooper argued that such return would narrow the difference between low-paid workers and regular workers that usually get on average $17 per hour, which is the current level of the median hourly wage in the U.S. A $12 wage would boost minimum wage to 54 percent of the current federal median wage.

Nevertheless, critics fear that increasing federal minimum wage would lead to job losses and many businesses to shut down. But reality contradicts such scenarios and not only in the Washington state. Many states decided to hike minimum wages from their federal level. As a result, last year the states that boosted wages experienced a stronger job growth than their peers that failed to make the move. Additionally, doomsday-scenarios involving Seattle after raising its hourly minimum wage to $15 failed to materialize.

“Places are pushing minimum wages into territory that we haven’t done before, and the sky hasn’t fallen,”

Mr. Cooper added. He also said that the fast-food workers’ Fight for $15 movement was also a great source of inspiration for the $12 wage proposal because it managed to raise awareness on how low the pay can be in some industries.

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On Wednesday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake met with Freddie Gray’s lawyers,  family members and with local religious leaders in an effort to tackle “misinformation” that may further fuel the protests caused by Gray’s forceful arrest and subsequent death.

The mayor, a Gray family’s lawyer and Rev. Jamal H. Bryant stood Wednesday outside a West Baltimore church to answer journalists’ questions over their confidential meeting held that day.

According to Ms. Rawlings-Blake, the group discussed plans to prevent further street unrest on Friday, when the police announced that it would finally release some details on Gray’s death and the results of its investigation.

The three announced that they would continue to push for peace this weekend.

Freddie Gray, 25, died earlier this month after a 7-day coma linked to a severed spine and a broken neck he got after he was arrested by Baltimore police officers. His death sparked public outrage amid a series of several other police abuses involving minority members across the country.

On Monday, people went on streets to make sure that the police would disclose what really happened with Gray on the day of his arrest and that justice would be served. But the peaceful protests soon morphed into riots and several arrests which caused nationwide unrest.

Hassan Murphy, one of Gray family’s attorneys, said that his clients contacted Baltimore mayor to arrange a meeting with the leaders of the city. Among others, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts and the Baltimore Public Works director also attended the meeting.

Mr. Murphy expressed his gratitude that the mayor chose to share the municipality’s short-term plans to assure that the city was “in great hands” with Gray’s family and other attendees.

“We stand by our mayor. The family stands by our mayor,”

the lawyer added.

He also disclosed that Gray’s family called for peace and wanted a throughout investigation that would lead to “the right result” without an unnecessary rush or hassle. The attorney also said that his clients wanted justice to be served but “at the right time,” rather than prematurely.

Baltimore Mayor expressed her concern about hate mongering “misinformation” about what the police might reveal on Friday. In a previous statement, Commissioner Batts said that his department would finish the investigation by Friday and would address prosecutors over potential charges. Protesters, however, are concerned that no or too little details would be released to the public on that day.

The mayor noted that at this Wednesday’s meeting she had the chance to answer some questions and make clear that authorities sought a “pathway toward justice and peace” rather than just seeking justice.

Ms. Rawlings-Blake expressed her gratitude for the meeting and the honesty of its participants. Rev. Bryant, who was a vocal advocate for peace these last few days, told reporters that the meeting helped “ease some fears” although it was hidden “under the cloak of confidentiality.” He also said that attendees will use the facts they learned about in their efforts to promote peace as Baltimore mayor’s ambassadors.

Rev. Bryant also mentioned his efforts to contact high school leaders, teachers and students to tell them that a verdict wasn’t due out this weekend, as rumored. He also said that it was the responsibility of the leaders of the community to correct “misinformation” in due time and make sure that what happened on Monday won’t repeat this weekend.

The reverend also urged just about everyone in the city to work for peace.

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Indiana lawmakers proposed Wednesday a new bill that would allow the state’s counties adopt needled-exchange programs whenever they are facing a serious HIV outbreak among injecting drug users. The move is a response to a recent HIV epidemic of more than 140 cases which sweeps a couple of Indiana’s southern counties.

Needle exchange programs allow injecting drug addicts to get free or buy at little cost the needles they need to inject drugs. Such programs prevent drug users to participate in needle-sharing networks which later contribute to the spread of lethal or hard-to-cure diseases such HIV or hepatitis. Worldwide these programs were effective in dodging HIV risk, although they remain very controversial.

Opponents are concerned that state-funded needle-exchange programs actually encourage drug abuse at societal and individual level because drug users have easy access to needles or syringes and they may get the wrong message. On the other hand, a WHO report showed that that was not the case, while former drug addicts lauded such programs for maybe saving their lives.

Indiana’s legislative initiative currently needs to be approved by Gov. Mike Pence to become a law.

Although Pence’s previous stance was against needle-exchange programs due to concerns that it would promote drug abuse, he said Wednesday that he was open to the new measures which he hopes would soon receive a proper legal framework that would provide health officials with the necessary resources and flexibility to start the programs as soon as possible within their communities.

Pence explained that he remained open to the initiative as long as it was designed to tackle a public health emergency. He also said that he would back needle-exchange programs until the emergency was brought under control.

According to the new bill’s provisions, local communities that face a HIV outbreak caused by intravenous drug use could get approval from state officials to launch a needle-exchange program as long as they can prove the outbreak. If the governor signs off the bill, it would be the first time Indiana allowed such an extensive program to fight further HIV infections.

The bill passed the House on an 80-19 vote, while the Senate said yes to it on a 38-11 vote. Supporters argued that the measure was absolutely necessary since the state faces its worst HIV outbreak in decades.

About 143 people living in Scott County and Jackson County have recently tested positive for HIV virus. Nearly all patients reported that they were involved in needle-sharing networks because they needed needles and syringes to inject their drug.

In March, Gov. Pence signed off another bill which allowed a limited needle-exchange program in Scott County as a measure to contain the HIV outbreak. Additionally, he signed an extension to the order last week, which allowed the program to continue one more month. Until now, more than 7,000 new needles were distributed through the program in the county.

State Representative Ed Clere expressed his support for the new measure which was designed to prevent other counties from becoming the next Scott County. On the other hand, the lawmaker acknowledged that the move was controversial and people remained divisive.

“For some this doesn’t go far enough. For some, it goes too far,”

he added.

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A Kentucky judge ruled Monday that the refusal of a printing company to print T-shirts for a gay pride festival due to its owners’ religious beliefs was legit.

The ruling comes only a day before the state attorney’s hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court where they will try to uphold the current definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Judge James Ishmael’s decision overturns a last year’s decision issued by a human rights commission. In October 2014, the panel found that the company infringed anti-discriminatory laws by its refusal to print the gay pride T-shirts the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization had ordered.

But the judge found that the company’s owners were also entitled to freedom of speech and religion and refuse to take an order that would be at odds with their deep-seated religious beliefs.

“This court does not fault the Commission in its interest in insuring citizens have equal access to services but that is not what this case is all about,”

the Kentucky judge stated.

He also argued that there was no clear evidence that the printing firm or its owners decided not to print those T-shirts based on the sexual orientation of their clients. Instead the company declined to take the order because of the message on those T-shirts, which promoted a sexual activity outside the traditional concept of a marriage.

On Tuesday, four states including Kentucky must convince the US Supreme Court judges that the traditional concept of marriage from their constitutions should be upheld. Moreover, a series of briefs filed with the nation’s highest court argued that overturning the traditional concept of marriage would lead to social distress as many other business owners would be forced to cater for gay weddings or gay activities, which are against their most sincere religious beliefs.

But the Kentucky case was not unique. In New Mexico, a photographer declined to participate in a same-sex marriage. The woman said that taking photos of the couple during the ceremony would offend her religious beliefs.

In Colorado, a bakery declined to produce a cake for a same-sex marriage, after telling the couple that they were free to buy anything in the store. The owners were brought in court for discrimination where they cited their religious beliefs.

In Washington state, a flower shop declined to take an order from two gay men who wanted a nice arrangement for their marriage. Although one of the gay men was a customer of that flower shop for more than nine years, the owner for the business told him that arranging flowers for a same-sex marriage would be sacrilegious.
Lawyers of the business owners sued over discrimination issues underlined in each case that their clients did not refuse to serve their gay or lesbian clients. Instead they only declined to actively be engaged and indirectly promote activities which were against their religious beliefs.

In Kentucky, the owner of the Hands On Originals printing company did not accept to take an order for the Lexington Pride Festival, because the T-Shirts would promote sexual activities offensive to his religion. But as his clients found another printing company to do the job, he was also sued in the meantime.

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The Aurora theater shooting trial began April 27, 2015, more than 1,000 days after the tragedy occurred, with defense attorneys trying to convince jurors that the main suspect James Holmes could not tell right from wrong that day.

On Monday, lawyers depicted a clearer picture of Holmes’ mind and his gradual change from a hard-working grad student to a homicidal maniac capable of opening fire in a crowded movie theater at a Dark Night premiere.

Jurors currently have the delicate task of discerning whether the shooting suspect is mentally ill or just plain “evil.”

Prosecution showed the jury an image of the theater entrance as they tried to make a case for Holmes’ sanity when he started the 2012 mayhem. According to prosecutors, the suspect was a sane, calculated mass murderer that decided to kill as many innocent people as he could just to raise his self-esteem and make sure that he won’t be easily forgotten after that day.

DA George Brauchler argued that Holmes simply came to execute a plan on that tragic day. Nothing less, nothing more. He also said that the suspect planned to murder the whole theater just to make himself feel better and become famous. Prosecution also mentioned that two psychiatric examinations found the main suspect sane.

On the other hand, defense pleaded that Holmes was tormented by schizophrenia since 20 experts confirmed the diagnosis.

So, the jury must decide whether Holmes was in his right mind when he entered the theater, released tear gas and managed to shot dead a dozen of people and wound 70 more. He currently faces multiple counts of first-degree and attempted murder, acts of violence and explosives offense.

Holmes’ attorneys hope that jurors would agree with his not-guilty plea by reason of insanity. If that happens, Holmes will escape capital punishment and spend the rest of his life in a mental institution.

In Colorado, a suspect must be proven sane before execution or life imprisonment.

The public defender argued that mental illness was a reality in Holmes’ case, rather than an excuse. He also said that by the time the trial was over, everyone would be convinced that the suspect was affected by a severe mental illness.

Defense attorneys argued that mental disorders ran in the suspect’s family. An aunt was schizophrenic. Holmes was also depicted as a tormented young man since his childhood. He tried to kill himself when he was 11, had “intrusive thoughts” in his adolescence, while his sanity started to deteriorate in his 20s.

Holmes’ lawyers also said that before the shootings, their client was acting under the influence of a deep psychosis and delusional behavior, which made him lose control over his rationality and pushed him into the murderous acts. He saw the murders as a way to set things right, according to defense.

Moreover, the man mailed his therapist his journal before the shootings. The journal was clear evidence that he had lost his minds during those days, defense attorneys argued.

Prosecution, on the other hand, argued that Holmes was fully aware of what he was doing since he sent a series of e-mails to his parents which revealed that he had the ability to reason while he tried to hide his emotional decline. After going to a shooting range several times, he even told an ex-girlfriend that he was practicing to carry out his “evil plan.”

Currently, as there is no doubt that Holmes was the one who pulled the trigger and detonated the explosives, his attorneys try to exonerate him by disputing his state of mind.

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