The US Congress is looking to extend copyright on some sound recordings to a staggering 144 years – making it the twelfth time copyright rules have been extended since the 1970s.
Source: US Congress mulls extending copyright yet again – to 144 years • The Register
The hospital zeroed out the bill after a reporter asked questions.
Source: Woman receives $5,751 ER bill—for an ice pack and a bandage | Ars Technica
He lost $500,000, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to him.
Source: Check out this surreal chat with Theranos investor who says he’s “thrilled” | Ars Technica
As promised, FDA got DOJ to crackdown on shady, dangerous stem cell clinics
Source: Stem cell clinics that blinded women used smallpox vaccine go to war with feds | Ars Technica
A new Authorization to Use Military Force, supposedly aimed at restricting presidential power, could expand it in a terrifying way.
An ultra-safe Michigan town of 6,800 has claimed more than $1 million in military equipment through the Defense Department’s 1033 program. The program allows law enforcement agencies to obtain anything from file cabinets to mine-resistant assault vehicles for next to nothing provided the agencies can show a need for the equipment. Most can “show” a “need,” since it’s pretty easy to type something up about existential terrorist/drug threats. Boilerplate can be adjusted as needed, but for the most part, requests are granted and oversight — either at the federal and local level — is almost nonexistent.This has come to a head in Thetford Township, the fourth-safest municipality in Michigan, and home to more than $1 million in military gear and two (2) police officers.
Source: Two-Man Police Department Acquires $1 Million In Military Gear | Techdirt
The prosecution of No More Deaths volunteers, who leave water in the desert for migrants, reveals the group is being targeted by the Border Patrol.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, seeks a restraining order against the company to stop it from publishing customers’ financial information, halt harassment and prevent the company from forcing riders to accept unfair contract terms. If the company does not change its practices, Madigan said, the attorney general wants the company out of business.The company’s actions, Madigan said, constitute “flagrant and numerous violations” of Illinois’ civil rights and consumer protection laws.“My lawsuit alleges that Suburban Express has long been engaged in illegal discrimination and harassment of college students in Illinois, particularly University of Illinois students and their families,” Madigan said at a morning news conference at the Thompson Center to announce the lawsuit.
Source: Suburban Express Sued By Illinois Attorney General For Behaving Like Suburban Express | Techdirt
A man who once claimed that the air in America was “a little too clean for optimum health”, has been appointed to an advisory board of America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The character of Drew Cloud ran a “independent, authoritative news outlet” named the The Student Loan Report, which was created after Cloud purportedly “had difficulty finding the most recent student loan news and information all in one place.” How nice. But like so many things in 2018 Cloud wasn’t real, something only confirmed with the company that created him after The Chronicle spent more than a week trying to verify Cloud’s existence.
