Oklahoma Bill Would Allow Customers to Opt Out of Smart Meters, Undermine Federal Program

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Oklahoma House would allow customers to opt out of installing “smart meter” technology on their homes and businesses without penalty. Passage of this bill would enable Oklahomans to protect their own privacy, and it would take a step toward blocking a federal program in…

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Arizona Bill Takes on Federal Militarization of Police and the Surveillance State

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Arizona Senate would require law enforcement agencies to get local government approval before acquiring or using military equipment or surveillance technology. Passage of the legislation would set the stage to limit the surveillance state, along with the impact of federal programs that militarize local…

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Rhode Island Right to Try Act Would Reject Some FDA Restrictions on Terminal Patients

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Rhode Island House would nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. Rep. Joseph McNamara (D-Warwick) introduced House Bill 7294 (H7294) with four bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation would allow terminally ill patients…

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While feds double down on marijuana prohibition, businesses stop bothering

"AutoNation may represent the first wave of a coming trend as marijuana becomes more socially acceptable and companies vie for workers in the tightest labor market in 17 years. As more states legalize -- Vermont will do so in July -- more employees are testing positive on drug tests, according to a Quest Diagnostics report released last year. Positive tests for marijuana rose about 75 percent from 2013 to 2016, the study showed. Results were based on more than 10 million drug tests."

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California to create a state-run bank for pot businesses to ease tax collection

"Store owners, growers and distributors are being forced to use cash because most banks won’t open accounts for them while the federal government still considers marijuana illegal. As revenues inevitably increase, they will be lugging larger stacks of 50s and 100s to the tax collector, a situation that everyone agrees makes businesses vulnerable to thievery, violent crime, money laundering and extortion."

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Libya after US ‘liberation’: Where lives are auctioned for $400

"A recent clampdown by the Libyan coastguard means fewer boats are making it out to sea, leaving the smugglers with a backlog of would-be passengers on their hands. So the smugglers become masters, the migrants and refugees become slaves."

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Mississippi Bill Would Take Another Step Toward Rejecting Federal Gun Control

JACKSON, Miss. (Jan. 30, 2018) – A bill filed in the Mississippi Senate would build on the foundation of legislation signed into law in 2016 and block state enforcement future federal gun control regulations in the state. In 2016, Gov. Phil Bryant signed legislation into law that removed conceal carry licensing requirements, allowing Mississippians to carry concealed…

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