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WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A prison is being planned in Connecticut that officials say would be the first of its kind in the country to exclusively house and deal with issues unique to inmates between the ages of 18 and 25.

The staff at the prison would receive special training in dealing with younger inmates, and the programming at the prison would focus on the brain development of young adults, the state’s correction commissioner, Scott Semple, told The Associated Press.

“This is the most impulsive population,” he said. “They tend to be involved in more assaults and things of that nature and what we are trying to do is impact that.”

He said the prison also would protect the younger inmates from abuse and manipulation by older prisoners.

The prison will be based on a model he saw in Germany this summer on a trip with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Semple said.

The department is seeking input from educational and other experts and is looking at a behavior-modification curriculum that the Department of Children and Families uses with youthful offenders to determine if some of that would work in the prison.

“What I envision is that incident rates will go down systemwide,” he said. “It also gives us the greatest potential to reduce the recidivism rate in a large way.”

Nicholas Turner, the president of the Vera Institute of Justice, a national criminal-justice policy nonprofit, confirmed the prison would be a first for the United States and said others will be watching closely to see how it works.

“In order to truly move from a system rooted in retribution and punishment to one that prioritizes rehabilitation and the protection of human dignity, we must reconsider a ‘one size fits all’ approach, particularly with the people in our justice system who have the most ahead of them,” he said.

New York City announced plans in September to move over 1,000 inmates ages 18 to 21 to a new unit at Rikers Island, and other states including Florida, Maine, Colorado and Massachusetts have facilities for young adults.

But the Connecticut facility would be the first full prison to focus on youth brain development.

B.J. Casey, the director of the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Cornell University, said she is pleased that Connecticut has decided to take into consideration developmental changes in young people when dealing with their rehabilitation.

“I hope with these changes that special attention will be given for opportunities for these individuals to engage in prosocial behavior and to have prosocial role models in preparation for their transition back into society,” she said.

There are currently 3,092 inmates between 18 and 25 in the prison system out of a population of 15,807. The department said 635 of those inmates are 25.

Semple said the move does not require legislative approval. He said he will look at the prison system’s own budget for funds before asking for any additional money and plans to use one of the state’s 18 existing prisons.

“Some things we’re going to have find resources for,” he said. “It is going to require specialty training for the staff.”

He said he also plans to set up a similar unit at the York prison for women. Plans call for the prison to open by January 2017, though officials have not yet decided which facility to convert.

The post APNewsBreak: Connecticut to open prison for 18-25 year olds appeared first on WTOP.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) was in Fairfax County on Wednesday to announce a proposed $1 billion investment in education, both at the K-12 and college levels.

The governor, speaking at Mark Twain Middle School in Alexandria, says his two-year budget proposal aims to prepare all students to succeed in the “new Virginia economy” by providing them with needed resources.

“I have heard from parents, students and teachers all over the commonwealth that we have been asking our schools to do more and more with less and less,” McAuliffe said. “But with thoughtful, bold ideas like the ones I am proposing, we will get back on the right track and ensure that we are laying the foundations for the New Virginia Economy.”

“This historic proposal represents the largest new investment in public education in over a decade, and the largest total investment in the history of the Commonwealth. I believe that if we want to have a world-class economy, we need a world-class education system, and this is where it starts.”

Some of the public education priorities funded in the biennial budget include:

• New Teachers: Providing roughly 2,500 additional instructional positions – $139.1 million
• Rebenchmarking: Fully funds the cost of rebenchmarking the Standards of Quality and additional updates – $429.8 million
• At Risk Add-On: Provides flexible funding to divisions based on free lunch population to be used for drop-out prevention, parent engagement, English Language Learners, etc. – $50 million
• Cost to Compete: Supports a cost of competing adjustment for school support positions in areas with a high cost of living – $41 million
• Salary Increases: Provides a 2 pecernt salary increase for teachers, non-teacher instructional positions, and support positions consistent with state employee raises – $83.2 million
•  Teacher Retirement: Increase general fund contribution to teacher retirement – $30 million

McAuliffe will present his full two-year budget to the Commonwealth Budget Committee on Thursday.

It is not yet known exactly how the commonwealth’s additional funds will directly impact Fairfax County Public Schools. However, FCPS has said it is facing about a $65 million budget gap for Fiscal Year 2017.

FCPS Superintendent Karen Garza will announce a proposed budget in January, which will be voted on by the board by May. A community Budget Task Force has looked at various changes, including larger class sizes and eliminating language immersion programs, as a means of narrowing the gap.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which gives about half its annual budget to FCPS, said part of the deficit starts at the state level. Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova said last week the state’s contributions have not kept pace with rising enrollment and other mounting budget needs in public schools.

“The state has reduced its share [of funding all Virginia schools] by $1 billion,”Bulova said at the Supervisors’ Dec. 8 meeting. “Counties have tried to make up the difference. In Fairfax, we have increased about $200 million for schools.”

Grassroots group #IamFCPS said it was encouraged by McAuliffe’s pledge.

“Solving the Fairfax Country Public Schools budget crisis will require collaboration, tough decision-making, and long-term financial planning by state and local elected officials,” Suzanne Zurn of Reston, founder of #IamFCPS, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Fairfax County delegation, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and the governor to ensure Fairfax County Public Schools receive the necessary funding to continue the legacy of excellence that has benefited the entire region.”

Photo: Terry McAuliffe/File photo

 

The post Virginia Governor Proposes a $1 Billion Boost for Public Schools appeared first on WTOP.

BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will close its Bristol office at the end of the year.

DMV spokeswoman Brandy Brubaker tells local media outlets that the DMV is consolidating customer service centers in Washington County to serve area customers in a more cost-efficient manner.

She says the closure at the end of business on Dec. 31 will save the DMV approximately $50,000 a year in rent in addition to other expenses.

Currently, Bristol’s staff includes six full-time employees and one part-time employee. With the exception of one employee who has chosen to retire, all staff members will be reassigned to nearby offices in Abingdon, Gate City and Lebanon.

Brubaker says the addition of staff from Bristol, will allow the DMV to open more service windows at the Abingdon office.

The post Bristol DMV office to close in effort to consolidate centers appeared first on WTOP.

Washington Post

Is DC targeting drivers with new traffic fines? Washington Post In an effort to eliminate traffic-related deaths, the District this week announced two proposals focusing on bad driving behaviors– and particularly those that put other road users at risk. Included are 20 fines — either for brand-new offenses or that ... and more »

Prince William County crime report Washington Post These were among incidents reported by Prince William County police. For information, call 703-792-7245. DUMFRIES AREA. ASSAULT. Jefferson Davis Hwy., 17000 block, 2:10 p.m. Dec. 3. During an argument in a store, a man grabbed a phone from a ... and more »

One of the holiday’s hottest gifts has gotten a bit too hot, literally. Following claims that so-called “hoverboard” scooters have caught fire while charging, retailers have pulled the popular devices to ensure they’re safe. In the meantime, the country’s top product safety regulator says his agency is working “non-stop” to find the root cause for the fire hazards linked to the self-balancing scooters. 

Elliot Kaye, Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman, said on Wednesday that he directed agency staff to intensify their investigation into the safety of hoverboards.

“The challenge is to move quickly but also thoroughly and carefully to find out why certain hoverboards caught fire,” Kaye said in a statement. “Every consumer who is riding a hoverboard, who purchased one to give as a gift during the holidays, or who is thinking about buying one deserves to know if there is a safety defect.”

For now, the agency is actively investigating hoverboard-related fires across the country, but Kaye failed to specify just how many fires have been reported to the CPSC.

The CPSC has both purchased new hoverboards and taken possession of those that have caught fire to better determine what causes the hazard.

Engineers at the National Product Testing and Evaluation Center are testing and will continue to test new and damaged boards, Kaye said, noting that staff is looking particularly closely at the configuration of the battery packs and compatibility with the chargers.

Although the safety of hoverboards has largely centered on fire risks lately, Kaye took time to remind consumers that there are other risks, specifically that of falls.

“I do not want to downplay the fall hazard,” he said. “CPSC has received dozens of reports of injuries from hospital ERs that we have contracts with and they continue to feed us real-time data.”

Some of those injuries have been serious, including concussions, fractures, contusions/abrasions, and internal organ injuries.

The agency reminded scooter riders to always wear a proper helmet and padding while using the device, and offered a list of tips that can reduce the risk of an incident.

People who encounter an issue with their hoverboard are urged to file a report with the CPSC.

“We know this is a popular product during this holiday season, and we are doing everything possible to determine if consumers are at risk,” Kaye said. “We will keep the public up-to-date with new information as it becomes available.”

In other hoverboard news, the United States Postal Service announced on Thursday that it will only ship the scooters via ground service.

“Effective immediately and until further notice, USPS will ship hoverboards using only Standard Post/Parcel Select,” the USPS said in a statement. “This product travels on ground transportation, due to the potential safety hazards of lithium batteries.”

Issues with hoverboards first started popping up this fall when authorities in the U.K. began to intensify their oversight of the products. Most recently, Amazon’s U.K. arm began offering refunds to customers and urging them to throw away their scooters following safety concerns in the country, Newsweek reports.

Prior to that, the company pulled several hoverboard brands from its U.S. marketplace, directing manufactures to provide documentation on safety standards. On Wednesday, Target followed suit removing several Swagway-branded boards from its website.

While California’s highways and byways are filling up with self-driving prototypes right now, the state Department of Motor Vehicles is laying down some rules of the road that, if finalized, will mean it could take longer for the public to get their hands on driverless cars.

California is taking a cautious approach to autonomous vehicles, reports the Los Angeles Times, with draft rules released this week that err on the safe side of things: cars must have a steering wheel and a licensed driver ready to jump in if the vehicle fails to do what it’s supposed to.

The rules say that even if a manufacturer, say, Google, thinks its car is ready for the market, it wouldn’t be a short trip from factory to the consumer: automakers would get a permit for three years, during which time consumers could lease the cars from them, but manufacturers would have to keep an eye on the vehicles and make sure they’re driving safely, and make performance reports to California.

Before even getting that first permit, both the manufacturer and an independent certifier would have to sign off that a car has gone through all the necessary safety hoops. Those who want to lease or use one of the cars would also have to get special training provided by the automaker and then receive a special certification on their driver’s license.

“Given the potential risks associated with deployment of such a new technology, DMV believes that manufacturers need to obtain more experience in testing driverless vehicles on public roads prior to making this technology available to the general public,” the agency said.

The draft rules are a guide for the industry as the technology moves from small-scale tests in the state to the future of self-driving cars for everyone and anyone. The rules may change in the next few months before they’re finalized — likely sometime next year — and already, some companies are calling the guidelines overreaching.

Google said it was “gravely disappointed” by the DMV’s draft regulations, saying it would restrict the use of driverless cars. And with a driver required behind the wheel, it wouldn’t be the autonomous future the industry hoped for.

“In developing vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button, we’re hoping to transform mobility for millions of people, whether by reducing the 94% of accidents caused by human error or bringing everyday destinations within reach of those who might otherwise be excluded by their inability to drive a car,” Google spokesman Johnny Luu said in an emailed statement to USA Today.

“Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this. We’re gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live here,” he wrote.

Self-driving cars must have driver behind the wheel, California says [Los Angeles Times]
Google ‘disappointed’ by proposed restrictions on driverless cars [USA Today]

If you’ve placed an online order for a gift or for a self-gift this holiday season, it most likely came from Amazon. How likely is it? According to statistics released this week, 39.3% of all money spent by Americans shopping online is spent at Amazon, which is more than the next 20 biggest sellers in e-commerce combined.

Amazon has been playing a long game, investing in warehouses and infrastructure to get packages to their customers in shorter and shorter timeframes, all the way down to stocking thousands of items in cities that offer Prime New delivery within an hour. When you can have a new TV or a case of paper towels delivered in less time than it takes to receive a pizza sometimes, why would you want to shop anywhere else?

There are recent reports that Amazon wants to take over even more of the chain that moves items from their suppliers to your doorstep: they’ve deployed their own fleet of trucks and drivers to move items between their own facilities. There’s even speculation that an air cargo facility in Ohio that once belonged to DHL’s domestic shipping operation is now being used by Amazon to move cargo around faster.

Not packages, necessarily, but cargo: they’re moving items between Amazon facilities, maybe so they can have things ready for you before you’ve even ordered them.

Amazon Is Capturing Bigger Slice of U.S. Online Holiday Spending [Bloomberg News]

An ongoing battle about the nature of mayonnaise that began in November 2014 seems to have finally reached a peaceful resolution: the Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow Just Mayo, sold by Hampton Creek, call itself “mayo,” even though the vegan, eggless product technically isn’t mayonnaise, according to the government’s definition.

Hampton Creek says it worked out an agreement with the FDA that will allow Just Mayo to keep its name, as long as it makes a few tweaks to the label. The two sides are finally coming to terms after the FDA sent a warning letter to the company in August, saying Just Mayo was misbranded because mayonnaise must contain eggs.

The FDA hasn’t confirmed or denied the news, but Hampton Creek is sharing its triumph with the world/anyone who cares about mayonnaise and mayonnaise-like spreads.

“This isn’t a story about winning or losing. It’s a story about creating a just food system. A food system that is healthier and stronger and more aligned with our values,” said Hampton Creek CEO and founder Josh Tetrick in a statement to Consumerist. “It’s a story about a group of professionals and a young company thoughtfully engaged in that mission.”

Here’s how the label will change: Hampton Creek is defining the word “just” on the central panel of the label, and will explain what that means, in its own terms, on the left panel.

It’s been a long road for Just Mayo: the brouhaha over its name originally started when Unilever, maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, sued Hampton Creek in November 2014 over claims of false advertising.

Though Hellmann’s later backed off and dropped its suit, the FDA picked up the scent and ran with it, issuing a warning latter in August that Just Mayo was not, in fact, mayonnaise.

Since then, news surfaced that the American Egg Board was on an anti-Just Mayo mission, a crusade, which when revealed, prompted the group’s head to step down.

In October, Hampton Creek explained to the FDA that just because its name includes the word “mayo” right there on the label, Just Mayo isn’t necessarily mayonnaise. Because “mayo” isn’t a regulated term, calling the eggless product as such shouldn’t be an issue, Hampton Creek had argued.

“The term ‘mayo’ should not now be held to the regulatory standard for ‘mayonnaise,’” wrote the company’s lawyer, Josh Schiller.

It appears the FDA was okay with that explanation, which brings us to today, when mayo can be eggless, but mayonnaise, ostensibly, must still contain eggs. We’ve reached out to the FDA on that point, and will update this post if and when we hear back.

We also reached out to Zack Mayo (link has video with curse words)– he IS an officer and a gentleman, after all — and hope he’ll weigh in.

As compared to the flood of the last couple of years, the number of hacks and data breaches facing consumers this holiday season is but a mere trickle. But while the pace may be slowing, shoppers’ card data is, as ever, at risk. The latest large-scale victim? A restaurant conglomerate with over 500 locations.

Security researcher Brian Krebs reported earlier today that data from banks showed a pattern likely to lead to the Landry restaurant group, and Landry has since confirmed the breach PDF).

You probably haven’t heard of Landry, but you probably have heard of or eaten at one of their restaurants. The company manages dozens of chains including Morton’s Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s, and the Rainforest Cafe. They also manage several hotels, resorts, and casinos, including the Golden Nugget chain.

Contacts in the banking industry told Krebs last week that they suspected Landry properties were the common point in several cases of fraud. The problem appears to have started as early as May, 2015 and may still be ongoing.

Landry did not confirm how many locations were or are affected, saying, “Even though we will not know the full scope of this incident until the investigation is completed, we will work vigilantly to address any potential issues that mat affect our consumers.”

Landry also wants you to know that they think it shouldn’t happen again, probably: “We want to assure our customers that protecting their payment card information is a top priority and are working non-stop to complete the investigation,” Landry said in their statement. “System changes that we began implementing even before we were apprised of the reports of unauthorized usage have already been made, both to the specific restaurants where the suspect activity occurred as well as the overwhelming majority of our restaurants. The new, enhanced payment system encrypts the card data throughout our processing system.”

In the meantime, as always, keep a close eye on your own credit and debit card statements and call your bank immediately if you see any suspicious charges.

Banks: Card Breach at Landry’s Restaurants [Krebs on Security]

Five months after federal and state regulators accused identity theft protection company LifeLock of violating a 2010 settlement in which it paid $11 million for allegedly using false claims regarding effectiveness of its services, the company has been ordered to pay $100 million in penalties and refunds for once again misleading consumers. 

The Federal Trade Commission announced the new settlement [PDF] today after finding that from at least October 2012 to March 2014, LifeLock violated four components of its previous agreement.

Under the previous deal, LifeLock was barred from making deceptive claims about services and was required to take more stringent measures to safeguard the personal information it collects from customers.

LifeLock had essentially promised not to misrepresent that its services offer “absolute protection against identity theft because there is, unfortunately, no foolproof way to avoid ID theft.”

But those are promises LifeLock hasn’t abided by, the FTC claims in its recently filed order.

According to the FTC, LifeLock failed to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program to protect users’ sensitive personal information, including their social security, credit card and bank account numbers.

Despite these failings, the company routinely advertised that it protected consumers’ sensitive data with the same high-level safeguards used by financial institutions.

From January 2012 through December 2014, the FTC alleges that LifeLock falsely advertised it would send alerts “as soon as” it received any indication that a consumer may be a victim of identity theft.

Additionally, the complaint states that LifeLock violated its previous order by failing to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program to protect its users’ sensitive personal data, including credit card, social security, and bank account numbers.

News of a settlement between the FTC and LifeLock is a bit of a surprise. When regulators filed action against the company in July, LifeLock said the two parties had gotten to that point because there was no way to reach an agreement outside of a court of law.

“We disagree with the substance of the FTC’s contentions and are prepared to take our case to court,” the company said in a statement at the time. “LifeLock takes the accuracy of our advertising materials very seriously. The alerting claims raised by the FTC did not result in any known identity theft for LifeLock members.”

On Thursday, the company said the agreement with regulators would allow it to move forward in helping consumers.

“The allegations raised by the FTC are related to advertisements that we no longer run and policies that are no longer in place,” the company said in a statement. “The settlement does not require us to change any of our current products or practices. Furthermore, there is no evidence that LifeLock has ever had any of its customers’ data stolen, and the FTC did not allege otherwise.”

Under the new settlement, in which LifeLock neither admits nor denies allegations, the company must deposit $100 million into the registry of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Of that $100 million, $68 million may be used to redress fees paid to LifeLock by class action consumers who were allegedly injured by the same behavior alleged by the FTC.

Any funds not received by consumers in the class action settlement or through settlements between LifeLock and state attorneys general will be provided to the FTC for use in further consumer redress.

In addition to the monetary settlement, the 2010 order’s stipulations on record keeping have been extended to 13 years from the date of the original order.

When there’s a cheese war raging, who’re you gonna call to settle things? If it’s a fight over whether or not a product is being incorrectly advertised, The National Advertising Division (an offshoot of the Council of Better Business Bureaus) often weighs in. This time, it’s addressing a string cheese dispute between two different companies, in the hopes that we can all just relax and enjoy some cheese.

Lactalis American Group — the company behind cheese brands like President and Sorrento — had challenged advertising claims made by its competitor, Saputo Cheese, USA. Lactalis had an issue with a claims made on product packaging and online for a few Saputo products.

NAD looked at claims including: “Low-Moisture, Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese”; “Light Low-Moisture, Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese”; and “Naturally Nutritious.”

Lactalis argued that Saputo’s products contain artificial phosphate and fillers, which are a no-no under the Food and Drug Administration’s standard of identity for “low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese,” and said the labels misled consumers as to the real makeup of those products. Lactalis also had a beef with the “Natural” characterization of Saputo’s products, because they include phosphate and fillers.

But Saputo responded by saying that phosphorus is a nutritious, healthy mineral that can be found naturally in any cheese. The levels of phosphorous in its products were within the range of levels across many varieties of cheese — low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella included. In addition, Saputo argued, its products are naturally produced and don’t contain artificial ingredients.

NAD sided with Saputo, saying it had basis to make its advertising claims. It noted in its decision that it “accords great weight to FDA regulations and seeks to harmonize its efforts with those of the regulatory world.” To that end, the FDA defines low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese as having between 30% and 45% milkfat content, a range that Saputo’s products undisputedly fall into.

The NAD doesn’t have the power to determine whether a product is misbranded, however, as that’s something the FDA decides. But in reviewing the product packaging claims, NAD determined that consumers could reasonably understand the claim, “low-moisture, part-skim” mozzarella to mean that the string cheese product purchased is, in fact, “low-moisture, part-skim.”

On the “Naturally Nutritious” front, Lactalis had argued that the presence of phosphorous in the product should bar Saputo from using that language. NAD disagreed again, noting that the FDA has said it will maintain its policy regarding the use of “natural,” as meaning that nothing artificial or synthetic has been added to a food that would not normally be expected to be found in that food. There’s also no evidence to conclude that consumers have any expectations regarding the presence of phosphorus in a product or not.

Saputo said in a statement that the company “supports NAD’s self-regulatory process and is grateful for the significant time and effort NAD and its staff took to consider this matter.”

You know how it’s almost impossible to ever see one of those big blockbuster films showing at the little movie theater down the street? That issue is largely the result of exclusive agreements between large theater chains and film studios that effectively prevent independent rivals from showing certain films. While these deals might be great for the bigger companies, they aren’t so awesome for consumers. And so, 10 state attorneys general are looking into whether or not the contracts used by Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment, and Cinemark constitute antitrust violations. 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine confirmed the 10-state investigation into the chains’ exclusionary conduct that allegedly limits consumer choice, The Associated Press reports.

According to DeWine, the investigation centers on whether or not the movie theater companies have tried to stifle the business of independent movie theaters and nonprofit film centers.

The agreements, most common among large chains, limit the number of theaters allowed to screen certain movies in some locations, essentially keeping potential blockbuster films out of smaller competitors’ reach.

All three major U.S. theater chains – AMC, Regal, and Cinemark – have previously said that clearance agreements are a long-established industry practice that only affect a small number of locations. Additionally, they say the requests are only approved at the discretion of movie studios.

However, those opposed to the practice maintain that the contracts allow larger chains to flex their muscle and exert their substantial market power in order to drive new, smaller competitors out of the industry.

“All businesses should have a fair chance to compete,” DeWine said. “We’re investigating the movie theater chains because of concerns that smaller, independent businesses have been unfairly pushed out of the market.”

DeWine’s office declined to reveal the other nine states involved in the probe.

Word of a multi-state investigation into AMC, Regal, and Cinemark began to surface earlier this winter in company filings, the AP reports.

In July, Regal and AMC announced in Securities and Exchange Commission filings that they had received formal inquiries the Department of Justice seeking information regarding their use of so-called clearance agreements.

Ohio Attorney General Confirms Movie Theater Antitrust Probe [The Associated Press]

With all those lumbersexuals and their bushy beards taking a big cut out of the razor business, it’s no surprise that competition is fierce. In an effort to protect its slice of the market, Gillette is suing online subscription razor service Dollar Shave Club for violation of intellectual property.

The civil suit filed in Delaware accuses Dollar Shave Club of using patented technology without Gillette’s approval, reports the Wall Street Journal. To back that claim up, Gillette cites a patent from 2004 for a razor blade coating method it uses in its Mach 3, Venus, and Fusion razor products.

Gillette wants an injunction preventing Dollar Shave Club from selling any products that infringe on its patents, and is also seeking monetary damages.

While the popularity of facial hair has had the razor industry on edge in recent years, web sales of men’s shaving gear is a booming business, almost doubling in the 12 months through May of this year to $263 million, the WSJ notes, which is about 8% of the total $3 billion market.

Gillette is trying to elbow its way into an increasingly crowded online sales market for razors: though it has a hold on about 60% of the retail market right now, that market is shrinking, and its online subscription service (launched last year, ostensibly in response to Dollar Shave Club’s existence) only makes up about a fifth of the online market.

P&G’s Gillette Sues Dollar Shave Club [Wall Street Journal]

Hamsters are fun animals to keep as pets and are naturally curious and very active. Daily exercise and play are essential to keeping your hamster happy and healthy.^[1] Developing a close bond with your hamster and providing him with plenty of opportunities for play and exercise will help him live a long life and become a great pet.

EditSteps

EditHandling Your Hamster

1. Let your hamster adjust to his new environment. Handling your hamster is a great way to bond with your hamster, but he will need some time to adjust to his new home. Give him about 12 to 24 hours to explore his cage and become comfortable with his surroundings.^[2] During this time, you can talk gently talk to him to interact with him, but do not put your hand in his cage.
   
   • Your hamster will need a large cage so that he has plenty of space to run and play. The minimum size cage is 59 cm x 36 cm X 25 cm (approximately 23 in x 14 in x 10 in). Ideally, his cage should also have some tubing and ladders.^[3]
2. Wash your hands. Hamsters do not see very well and typically use their nose to pick up on cues from their environment. For example, if you have just eaten something and then go to handle your hamster, he will smell the food on your hands and may try to bite you. If you have more than one hamster, one hamster could pick up on the scent of the one that you just handled, which could be perceived as being attacked by the other hamster.^[4]
   
   • Use unscented soap to wash your hands.^[5]
   • If you are handling multiple hamsters, wash your hands before and after handling each hamster.
3. Place your hand inside the cage. Before your hamster will be comfortable with you handling him, he will first need to get used to your hand. Place your hand in his cage and leave it there for him to sniff and explore. If he tries to bite or nibble your hand, pull your hand away slowly and gently blow on his face to discourage that behavior.^[6]
   
   • Hamsters are prey animals, so putting your hand in his cage could resemble a bird reaching down to swoop him up. The more comfortable he becomes with your hand, the less afraid he will be of you picking him up.^[7]
   • It may take anywhere from a few hours to a few days before he is used to your hand.^[8]
   • Feeding him treats can also help him get used to your hand being in his cage.^[9]
4. Pick him up. When your hamster no longer sees your hand as a threat, you can start picking him up. Slowly reach into the cage and let him see and sniff your hand first. Then, place one hand under his chest and one hand on his bottom and gently lift him up towards you.^[10] Talk to him in a gentle voice and make sure not to squeeze him too tightly.^[11]
   
   • Sitting on the ground or standing over a tabletop are the best places to hold him. Your hamster may want to jump, which could cause injury, so you want to make sure that you are as close to a solid surface as possible.^[12]
   • After you pick him up, you can also try lying back on the floor and allowing him to walk around on your chest.^[13]
   • If you are having trouble picking him up in your hands, you could also lift him outside of his cage by gently nudging him into a cup or small bowl.^[14]
   • Keep in mind that hamsters generally do not enjoy being handled for long periods of time.^[15] Begin by holding him for a few seconds and gradually increase the amount of time that you hold him.^[16] If he gets squirmy, place him back in his cage as gently and slowly as you picked him up.
   • Because they are prey animals, hamsters are wary of sudden changes in their environment. Slowly reaching in and picking up your hamster will help reduce his fear that he is being scooped up by a predator.^[17]
5. Do not punish your hamster if he bites. Hamsters generally do not respond to punishment because they cannot make a clear association between the behavior and the consequences. Rather than yelling or hitting your hamster, you can gently blow on his face and say “no” in a firm voice. The air on his face will probably cause him to rear back and squint. That should be enough to discourage him from biting you again.^[18]
   

EditPlaying With Your Hamster Outside of His Cage

1. Hamster-proof the area. Your hamster will need daily playtime outside of his cage.^[19] To make this an enjoyable experience for him, you will need make sure that his play area is safe. For example, you will need to remove or hide any electrical cords that he could nibble on. You should also block any possible areas where your hamster could squeeze or hide in, such as under furniture or between couch cushions.^[20]
   
   • If you have other pets, they should not be allowed in your hamster’s play area.
   • A clean bathroom is a good area for your hamster to play in.^[21] Make sure that the toilet lid is closed so that he does not accidentally fall in the toilet.
2. Place him in an exercise ball. An exercise ball is a great way for your hamster to exercise. Exercise balls are available at your local pet store in different varieties. Because hamsters do not see very well, make sure that the exercise ball you choose is made of clear plastic.^[22]
   
   • After you gently place your hamster in the ball, put a piece of tape over the ball’s door so that it does not open while your hamster is in the ball.^[23]
   • Place the ball in a carpeted area, which will give the ball extra traction.^[24]
   • Supervise your hamster closely when he is in the ball so that he does not run into any furniture or get too close to a set of stairs.^[25]
   • Keep him in the ball for no longer than 20 minutes and provide him with food and water when you place him back in his cage.^[26]
3. Place him in a large playpen. A playpen is another way that your hamster can play outside of his cage. Ideally, the playpen should be larger than his regular cage. To make the playpen fun for him, place some of his toys inside of it. Supervise him closely so that he does not climb out of his playpen and escape.^[27]
   
   • Playpens are available at your local pet store.
4. Allow him to run around in an open area. You can also let your hamster explore the hamster-proofed area without being in an exercise ball or playpen. If you are in the bathroom, you could place him in the tub and let him run around. Place some of his toys in the open area and create some obstacle courses to keep him interested.^[28]
   
   • The obstacle course can be made of common household items, such as empty cardboard boxes and toilet paper rolls.
5. Look for your hamster if he runs away. Despite your best efforts to hamster-proof the area and keep a close eye on your hamster, he may still find a way to escape and hide. If you cannot find him when playtime is over, check the places where he would be most likely to hide: behind or underneath furniture, between seat cushions, inside of drawers or boxes, etc.
   
   • If you have searched all of these places with no luck, consider placing food near or inside of his cage to encourage him to come back to his cage.^[29]

EditPlaying With Your Hamster Inside of His Cage

1. Place an exercise wheel inside of his cage. An exercise wheel is considered the mainstay of a hamster’s exercise. An exercise wheel with wires could injure your hamster’s paws, so select an exercise wheel that has either a solid or mesh bottom. Also, look for one that can attach to one of the interior sides of your hamster’s cage.^[30]
   
   • The exercise wheel should be large enough (minimum 12 inches in diameter) to prevent your hamster’s back from bending when he is running on the wheel.^[31]
   • Listen to the wheel when your hamster is running on it. If it is noisy, you may want to consider moving your hamster’s cage to an area outside of your bedroom. Hamsters are nocturnal animals, so your hamster would likely be running on his cage during the night.^[32]
2. Place toys inside of his cage. Your hamster will want to do more than just run on his exercise wheel. He will also enjoy running through tunnels and having toys that he can nibble on. The chew toys will help keep your hamster’s teeth filed down.^[33] Rather than buying a lot of toys at your local pet store, you could make homemade toys.
   
3. Supervise your hamster. Although your hamster will likely not escape from his cage, you still want to make sure that his play is safe inside of his cage. For example, if his cage is made of wire, he may try to climb up the sides of the cage. Not only could the wire injure his paws, but he could also get seriously injured if he falls down when trying to climb.^[34]
   • If you see him trying to climb, you could slowly reach into his cage and gently place him back on the cage floor.

EditVideo

EditTips

• Don't bath a hamster! If you are going to bath your hamster, then get sand bath in stores if you bath them you can get rid of the oils in their fur that they need
• Never pick a hamster from the back! This is how a bird of prey would grab them.
• Hamsters are solitary animals,^[35] so they do not necessarily need another hamster as a playmate. They are also territorial,^[36] so do not place more than one hamster inside of a cage.
• Never squeeze a hamster, especially tightly.
• If you have children, supervise them closely when they are playing with your hamster.
• Make sure you can read your hamster's body language. If your hamster is lethargic for a long time, and seems disengaged from the play, you should put the hamster back in it's cage as it might be tired, and try playing a different time.
• Play with your hamster each day. Your hamster will need to interact with you daily to keep him happy and entertained.^[37]
• Hamsters are nocturnal animals, which means that they will sleep during the day and be active at night. Rather than waking up your hamster to play during the day, wait until later in the evening to interact with him.^[38]
• Syrian hamsters are usually easier to handle than dwarf hamsters.^[39]

EditRelated wikiHows

• How to Breed Hamsters
• How to Make Dwarf Hamsters Stop Biting the Cage
• How to Keep a Happy Hamster
• How to Learn When to Separate Hamsters
• How to Catch a Runaway Hamster
• How to Clean out a Hamster Cage
• How to Play with a Hamster Safely Indoors

EditSources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jurors were unable to reach a verdict Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, and it’s not yet clear if or when he may face another trial.

Five other officers also have been charged in the death of Gray, who suffered a severe spinal injury in the back of a police van after he was arrested in April. He died a week later. His death led to widespread unrest in the city, including some rioting, and the National Guard was called in to help restore order. The Justice Department has since launched a civil-rights investigation of the city’s police department, and the city’s already-high homicide rate has soared in the months since Gray died.

Here is a look at what has happened in the case:

___

MISTRIAL

Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the case Wednesday, a day after he told deadlocked jurors to keep trying for a verdict.

The judge told the jurors they had “clearly been diligent” before he dismissed them.

Gray died after suffering a broken neck in a police van while handcuffed and shackled. An autopsy concluded his head was probably slammed against inside the van as the van turned a corner or stopped.

The case hinged on what prosecutors said Officer William Porter failed to do: They said Porter should have called an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed medical help, and should have buckled Gray’s seat belt. One prosecutor referred to the van as a “casket on wheels.”

Porter testified Gray didn’t seem hurt. He said he told the driver and a supervisor Gray wanted to go to a hospital.

___

WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?

Prosecutors have not indicated whether they will seek to retry Porter. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby declined to comment on Wednesday’s result, citing a gag order. The judge was scheduled to meet with prosecutors and defense attorneys in his chambers on Thursday to discuss a possible retrial date. There are several factors at play:

— Prosecutors could seek to try Porter again on all four charges he faces. They could also decline to pursue some or all of the charges.

— Prosecutors had indicated they wanted to try Porter first because they wanted him to testify against at least two of his colleagues. But the mistrial could complicate that strategy, and depending on how the other trials are scheduled, he may not be available to testify.

— Defense attorneys could seek again to have Porter’s trial moved out of Baltimore. The hung jury reflects a deep divide among Baltimore residents about the officer’s culpability and suggests that a fair trial in the city might not be possible, said Steve Levin, a city defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.

Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the police van in which Gray suffered a severe spinal injury, is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 6. He’s charged with second-degree murder, the most serious charge in the case, along with manslaughter, assault and other offenses.

___

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN BALTIMORE?

Demonstrators are gathering, and two have been arrested. Several protesters are marching through the city, chanting that they are seeking justice for Gray. But so far, everything appears to be peaceful.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said police are out on the streets to serve as peacekeepers. He said protesters have “a friend” in the department, but people who commit crimes and hurt people lose their right to call themselves demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Gray’s family has urged calm. Billy Murphy, who represents Gray’s mother and stepfather, said he has every confidence Officer William Porter will be convicted if he is tried a second time. He said Gray’s family is not angry and that they want people to remain calm, understand what happened and keep their emotions in check.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After determining a shooting at a Chattanooga reserve center this summer was inspired by foreign terrorists, the Navy will award the Purple Heart to the four Marines and one sailor who were killed and the one Marine who was injured there.

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the decision Wednesday in a news release. He said the finding that the shooting was terrorist-inspired came after an extensive investigation by the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigation Service.

“This determination allows the Department of the Navy to move forward immediately with the award of the Purple Heart to the families of the five heroes who were victims of this terrorist attack, as well as to the surviving hero, Sgt. Cheeley,” Mabus’ statement reads.

The FBI earlier labeled shooter Muhammad Abdulazeez, a naturalized U.S. citizen, a homegrown violent extremist but declined to say what might have motivated him. His family said he had problems with drugs and depression that prevented him from holding on to a job. He was also in debt, and considering bankruptcy at 24.

But investigators also found writings from Abdulazeez that reference Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who encouraged and inspired attacks on the homeland and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011.

Earlier Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey told reporters the July 16 attack was “inspired and motivated by foreign terrorist propaganda.”

That statement came after some had questioned why the Dec. 2 attack that killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, was quickly labeled terrorism but months passed without a determination in the Chattanooga attack.

Abdulazeez first fired shots from his car into a military recruiting center in a Chattanooga strip mall before driving about 7 miles to a Navy-Marine reserve center where he killed four Marines and a sailor and wounded a fifth Marine before Chattanooga police killed him.

Those killed were Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, and Marines Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan and Lance Cpt. Squire “Skip” Wells. Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley was injured.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, who is from Chattanooga, praised the decision in a statement, saying those killed and wounded “exemplify the very best that America has to offer.”

“Our commander-in-chief has classified the heartbreaking events that took place that day as an act of terror, and I have been pressing the FBI to provide answers to both the families of the fallen and our community,” said the Tennessee Republican. “I appreciate the efforts of all involved as they work tirelessly to piece together this puzzle so we can better protect ourselves in the future.”

Smith’s grandmother, Linda Wallace, said in a telephone interview that she was frustrated it took months to determine the shooting was inspired by foreign terrorists. But she was pleased to hear of the award.

“He definitely deserved it,” she said. “He gave his life for those other guys.”

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Florida man said Wednesday his plan has been approved to display in the Oklahoma Capitol rotunda a “Festivus Pole” based on a fictional holiday depicted in the popular 1990s sitcom “Seinfeld.”

Chaz Stevens, of Jupiter, Florida, will display a “Festivus Pole” next Wednesday in the building’s first-floor rotunda near an existing display of giant nutcrackers and a gift-laden sleigh.

Stevens said the pole pays homage both to gay rights and the Seinfeld episode in which a character’s quirky father describes a holiday that includes feats of strength and the airing of grievances.

The 6-foot-pole is wrapped in the colors of the gay pride rainbow flag and topped with a disco ball.

Stevens said the original display first erected in Florida three years ago was made of empty Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans, but this year’s pole has evolved to reflect the advance of gay rights.

The approval of the pole in Oklahoma comes just months after the state Supreme Court ruled that a permanent Ten Commandments monument had to be removed from the Capitol grounds.

“Out goes the Ten Commandments. In comes the gay pride Festivus pole,” Stevens said. “It’s a beautiful way to talk about 2015.”

Similar poles are expected to be put up in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and Washington, Stevens said. Applications are pending in at least two other states.

John Estus, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the agency that oversees state buildings, said Stevens’ application for a display was considered just like any other.

“It’s the same thing as reserving space: You fill out a form, it’s evaluated, and it’s approved or denied,” Estus said. “This is no different than somebody standing with a sign in the rotunda.”

In Arkansas, Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office denied the request in a Dec. 4 letter that cited several problems with the application, including failure to comply with trademark law and a lack of specifics on how the pole would be anchored.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Demillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy

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DENVER (AP) — A man imprisoned for 28 years after a woman said she dreamed that he raped her could be freed after a Denver judge overturned his conviction, saying he would likely be acquitted at a new trial because someone else confessed to the crime.

Clarence Moses-EL was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 48 years in prison for raping and assaulting a woman when she returned home from a night of drinking. When police initially asked who attacked her, she named the man who later confessed.

More than a day after the assault, while in the hospital, the woman identified Moses-EL as her attacker, saying his face came to her in a dream.

Moses-EL has long claimed he was innocent. But his efforts to appeal his conviction were unsuccessful, in part because Denver police threw away DNA evidence from the attack. Police destroyed body swabs and the victim’s clothing despite a judge’s order to preserve it for testing that could have confirmed Moses-EL’s guilt or innocence.

The case inspired legislation requiring the preservation of DNA evidence in major felony cases for a defendant’s lifetime. Lawmakers also took the rare step of sponsoring a bill ordering a new trial for Moses-EL, but it was scrapped after then-Gov. Bill Ritter, a former prosecutor, threatened to veto it.

His break came in December 2013 when another man, L.C. Jackson, sent him a letter in prison saying he couldn’t believe Moses-EL was accused of raping the woman because he “had sex” with her at the same time that night.

“I really don’t know what to say to you, but let’s start by bringing what was done in the dark into the light,” Jackson wrote, according to court documents. “I have a lot on my heart.”

The letter led to a hearing in July, where Jackson testified that he became angry during sex with the woman and hit her in the face. The woman told police that she was lying down to sleep when a man put his hands around her neck and raped her.

Jackson has not been charged in that case. But DNA evidence led to his conviction in the 1992 rapes of a mother and daughter that happened about a mile and a half away from the first woman’s home. There was no way to immediately reach him Wednesday, with records showing he is in prison.

Jurors would likely clear Moses-EL if they heard Jackson’s sworn confession and saw evidence showing that Jackson’s blood type — rather than Moses-EL’s — was found in the victim, Denver District Judge Kandace Gerdes wrote in her Monday order granting a new trial.

“He’s elated,” attorney Gail Johnson said of Moses-EL, who was being held in the Bent County Correctional Facility in southeastern Colorado. “He’s very happy and feels like he’s finally getting justice in this case.”

A judge set Moses-EL’s bond at $50,000, and his attorneys expect he will soon be returned to Denver, where he will likely be released pending a new trial. Prosecutors declined to say whether they would file new charges against him.

Prosecutors were still reviewing the ruling and would meet with the victim, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office.

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Winners of Carnegie Hero medals announced Thursday:

— Cesar Andy Garcia, 18 of Ronkonkoma, New York, and Michael Thomas Frawley, 18, of Hamburg, New York, both saved a 9-year-old boy from drowning in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Nov. 23, 2014. The boy’s father drowned attempting to help the child.

— Dennis C. Hunke II, 51, of Plainfield, Illinois, who died trying to rescue an 84-year-old woman from an out-of-control vehicle.

— Helen Goulet 72, of Courtenay, British Columbia, saved an 89-year-old woman from a house fire.

— The Olson family, of Jefferson, South Dakota, helped a woman being threatened by her husband with a gun on May 10, 2014. Gary Olson, 64, his wife Mary Olson, 54, Shelby Olson, 20, stopped in a parking lot and let the woman into their car. The man shot at them, injuring Shelby Olson.

— Peter Todd Radke, 43, of Medina, Ohio, was killed May 31, 2014 trying to save a woman from drowning after she was struck by a wave on Lake Erie.

— Wayne L. Hoffman, 66, of Spring Green, Wisconsin, died on Dec. 23, 2014 trying to save a man struggling in the waters of Lake Superior in Minnesota.

— Michael Campanella, 40, of Clifton Park, New York and Adam Matthew Myers, 21,of Ballston Spa, New York, worked together to save a man trapped in burning station wagon on August 8, 2014 in Clifton Park.

— Kevin Michael O’Connor, 40, of Ottawa, Illinois, saved a man from drowning while kayaking in the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois on April 19, 2014.

— Laurence T. Norton III, 47, of New Orleans, rescued a woman being stabbed by a man with a large kitchen knife on Oct. 27, 2014 in the city. Norton grabbed the woman away from the man in a parking lot, tussled with the man and helped her into his dentist’s office, administering first aid.

— Clifford W. J. Peterson, 40, a police constable from Ajax, Ontario, saved a man from falling off an icy bridge in Toronto on Dec. 8, 2013.

— Fraser A. Potts, 28, of Limoges, Ontario, saved a woman from drowning in a suicide attempt in Fairford, Manitoba on May 10, 2013.

— Jon Christopher Meis, 22, of Renton, Washington, saved an indeterminate number of people during a campus shooting in Seattle on June 5, 2014. He pepper-sprayed and tackled a gunman as he paused to reload his shotgun at a building at Seattle Pacific University.

— Steven A. Martin, 39, of Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania, rescued a woman trapped in a burning car on Sept. 6, 2014 in Patton, Pennsylvania.

— Neil C. Burkhardt, 32, of Portland, Oregon, tackled a woman who was firing a gun at a man in an office building on Feb. 4, 2014. He wrested the gun from the woman and held her at gunpoint until security arrived. The man was shot but recovered.

— Matthew L. Tranel, 39, of Maquoketa, Iowa, and Cory Alan Simonson, 29, of Maquoketa, Iowa, saved a 48-year old man whose wheelchair malfunctioned during a house fire.

— Joshua J. Gardner, 36, of Calgary, Alberta, saved a man whose SUV left the roadway and landed a golf course pond on July 5, 2014.

— Clifford A. Wright, 72, of Sarasota, Florida, saved two people from drowning when their car wound up in a pond after an accident and started to sink on Jan. 13, 2015.

— Stuart Chaffin, 45, of St. Cloud, Florida, saved an unresponsive driver whose car caught fire after an accident on Dec. 22, 2014 in Orlando.

— Boyce Coleman, 43, of Yonkers, New York, drowned on Sept. 7, 2014, trying to save a 5-year-old boy who floated away from the banks of the Hudson River during a community event. Jennifer Fanelli, 23, of Elmsford New York, took the boy from Coleman and swam back to shore.

— William J. Driscoll, 34, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, stopped a runaway vehicle with an unresponsive driver on a highway by ramming it with his own on Sept. 15, 2014.

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s sweeping plan to overhaul and reduce the use of solitary confinement in its prisons has its roots in a lawsuit, initially scrawled out by an inmate who had been sent to “the box” for more than 1,000 days for non-violent, minor offenses.

As the practice of putting inmates in 6-by-10-foot cells alone for 23 hours each day as punishment is increasingly criticized across the nation, most of the handful of states that have taken action thus far have been prodded, at least in part, by lawsuits that have alleged solitary for extended stretches is overused, harsh and psychologically damaging.

“It’s a common phenomenon that an actual lawsuit is the catalyst for solitary reform,” said David Fathi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project. “But it’s better when prison officials decide to do the right thing without being sued. They know their system best, they know what the problems are.”

There are an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Americans currently locked away in solitary, according to federal statistics. The practice has been used for decades not just in so-called supermax facilities for particularly dangerous people but throughout prison systems as punishment for inmates who break internal rules.

In September, California settled its own class-action lawsuit, announcing that it will end the longstanding practice of automatically and indefinitely putting gang members in solitary confinement.

Recent reforms to solitary for prisoners in states such as Mississippi and Arizona, as well as for juveniles in Ohio, also have resulted from lawsuits.

New York, with 60,000 inmates in 54 prisons, has about 4,000 in solitary at any given time, meaning confinement for 23 hours a day, with one hour a day for recreation. The new plan calls for moving about 1,100 put there for minor or nonviolent offenses into secure, therapeutic housing units instead, reducing the number of violations that carry solitary sentences and imposing a three-month maximum sentence for most rule violations.

But some states have taken the initiative to reduce the reliance on isolation on their own.

Prison officials in Maine, Michigan and Colorado have all voluntarily sought ways to limit the number of people held in solitary in their custody.

Other states, such as Nebraska, are starting to examine solitary more closely, particularly as legislatures across the country consider bans for the most vulnerable inmates, such as juveniles, people with serious mental illnesses and pregnant women.

There also may be other movement toward reforming, if not curtailing, the use of solitary, experts said.

For the first time, proposed standards before the American Correctional Association would include so-called step-down policies that offer prisoners who have been housed in solitary gradually increasing out-of-cell time, group interaction and programming before they’re put back in general population or released from custody.

“This decade of work has teed up the problem to be solved but it hasn’t solved it yet,” said Margo Schlanger, an expert on solitary confinement at the University of Michigan Law School. “The states that have taken either baby steps or big steps have not seen increases in violence result.”

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to negotiate after the New York Civil Liberties Union filed its lawsuit in 2011, state officials have said.

“We are New York and we have to lead by example,” the governor told his staff in instructing them to negotiate broad reforms, said his top lawyer, Alphonso David.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Paralyzed Army veteran Gene Laureano cried when he first walked again with robotic legs at a New York clinic as part of research sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. But when the study ended, so did his ability to walk.

Now he may get the chance to walk everyday: The VA has agreed to pay for the powered exoskeleton for eligible paralyzed veterans with spinal cord injuries — marking the first federal coverage policy for robotic legs in the United States.

Veterans have been petitioning the VA to do this because many cannot afford the $77,000 needed to pay for the device called the ReWalk. The electronic leg braces were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 for individuals to use at home. VA officials told The Associated Press that that the agency sent a memorandum Dec. 10 outlining its plans to train staff to be able to provide the ReWalk.

Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said his committee has been pushing for the VA to use “innovative private sector technologies and products in order to better serve veterans, and we hope to see more of this in the future.”

“In an era where the department is much too fixated on defending its lack of accountability for misbehaving employees and providing services that are far outside the scope of its original mission, it’s refreshing to see the VA focusing on something that strikes at the core of what it was set up to do,” Miller said in an email.

News of the VA’s decision sent shares for ReWalk Robotics up over 100 percent Thursday. Sales have been sluggish since the FDA approval of the system, with few private insurers agreeing to cover it. Most of the 36 individuals who bought the ReWalk in the United States so far paid for it through fundraising or out of pocket.

But the company hopes the VA’s policy will prompt more private insurers to follow suit.

“The VA is leading the world with this,” CEO Larry ReWalk Robotics said. “It’s fabulous. It really gives individuals a much better life, and makes them much healthier to be able to walk again.”

The company said it has evaluated 45 paralyzed veterans who meet the height and weight requirements for the technology — which consists of leg braces with motion sensors and motorized joints that respond to subtle changes in upper-body movement and shifts in balance.

Laureano, 53, is praying his application will go through soon. The former Army corporal remembers the day he first tried the ReWalk at New York’s James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx two years ago.

“The tears came down,” said Laureano, who was left paralyzed five years ago after falling off a ladder. “I hadn’t spoken to somebody standing up in so long.”

“I just kept remembering the doctor told me it was impossible for me to walk, and then I crossed that threshold from the impossible to the possible,” he added.

The ReWalk was invented by Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer, who was paralyzed in an accident in 1997. Several competing products that use similar technology — nicknamed “electronic legs”— are also being tested in U.S. rehab hospitals.

None, including the ReWalk, are fast enough or can be worn long enough to replace wheelchairs.

VA pilot studies found paraplegics who used the exoskeleton as little as four hours a week for three to five months experienced better bowel and bladder function, reduced back pain, improved sleep and less fatigue.

“The research support and effort to provide eligible veterans with paralysis an exoskeleton for home use is a historic move on the part of the VA because it represents a paradigm shift in the approach to rehabilitation for persons with paralysis,” said Dr. Ann Spungen, who led VA research on the system.

About 42,000 veterans are paralyzed. Of them, a fraction would meet the requirement for an exoskeleton. The apparatus requires specific height and weight requirements and works for paraplegics but not for quadriplegics. A supportive belt around the patient’s waist keeps the suit in place, and a backpack holds the computer and rechargeable battery. Crutches are used for stability, and the FDA requires an assistant be nearby.

A dozen VA centers are expected to start training staff to provide the system. The program will likely be expanded in the future, according to ReWalk.

Former Army Sgt. Terry Hannigan, a 62-year-old paralyzed Vietnam veteran, was the first veteran to get the robotic legs as part of a test of the system. She uses them to walk through the mall and shop at the grocery store.

“It definitely is a show stopper, especially in the mall with kids. Some say things like ‘Wow, look at Robocop!’ They ask a lot of questions, but I don’t mind,” Hannigan said.

When she was in a wheelchair she said she had to ask people to pass her things out of her reach.

“To be able to hear the conversation, not miss half of what’s being said because it’s over your head, that in itself is a big plus,” she said.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ leaders on Thursday made a sweeping move to break with the city’s Confederate past when the City Council voted to remove prominent Confederate monuments along some of its busiest streets.

The council’s 6-1 vote allows the city to remove four monuments, including a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has stood at the center of a traffic circle for 131 years.

It was an emotional meeting — often interrupted by heckling — infused with references to slavery, lynchings and racism, as well as the pleas of those who opposed removing the monuments to not “rewrite history.”

City Council President Jason Williams called the vote a symbolic severing of an “umbilical cord” tying the city to the offensive legacy of the Confederacy and the era of Jim Crow laws.

“If anybody wins here, it will be the South, because it is finally rising,” Williams, who is African-American, said.

Stacy Head, a council member at large, was the lone vote against the removal. She is one of two white council members.

She lamented what she called a rush to take the monuments down without adequate consideration of their historic value and meaning to many in New Orleans.

Fixing historic injustice is “a lot harder work than removing monuments,” she said, even as many in the packed council chambers jeered her.

She said the issue was dividing the city, not uniting it. “I think all we will be left with is pain and division.”

The decision came after months of impassioned debate. On Thursday, four preservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the city from taking down the monuments by challenging the city’s removal process.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu first proposed taking down these monuments after police said a white supremacist killed nine parishioners inside the African-American Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June.

Anti-Confederate sentiment has grown since then around the country, along with protests against police mistreatment, as embodied by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Before Thursday’s vote, Landrieu told the council and residents who gathered on both sides of the issue that for New Orleans to move forward, “we must reckon with our past.”

Landrieu said the monuments reinforce the Confederate ideology of slavery, limit city progress and divide the city. He used President Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Landrieu signed the new ordinance into law shortly after the vote. His administration said it would cost $170,000 to take the monuments down and put them in a warehouse until a new location is found for them — perhaps in a park or museum. The city said it would hire contractors soon to remove the monuments.

The meeting was lively and sometimes disorderly.

The Rev. Shawn Anglim, a Methodist pastor, is among clergy who have spoken out in favor of taking down the monuments. Anglim told those gathered Thursday to “do the right thing.”

“Do it for our children, and our children’s children,” he said.

Activist Malcolm Suber called the monuments “products of the Jim Crow era, an era when blacks were hunted and persecuted.” Others said they want the council to go even further and change street names associated with “white supremacy.”

The most imposing of the monuments the council has voted to strike from the cityscape has had a commanding position over St. Charles Avenue since 1884: A 16-foot-tall bronze statue of Lee stands atop a 60-foot-high Doric marble column, which itself rises over granite slabs on an earthen mound. Four sets of stone staircases, aligned with the major compass points, ascend the mound.

Above it all, the Virginian stands in his military uniform, with his arms folded and his gaze set firmly on the North — the embodiment of the “Cult of the Lost Cause” southerners invoked to justify continued white power after the Civil War.

The council also voted to remove a bronze figure of the Confederate president that now stands at Canal Street and Jefferson Davis Parkway, and a more local hero, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, who straddles a prancing horse at the entrance to City Park. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard was born in St. Bernard Parish, and commanded Confederate forces in the war’s first battle.

The most controversial is an 1891 obelisk honoring the Crescent City White League. An inscription added in 1932 said the Yankees withdrew federal troops and “recognized white supremacy in the South” after the group challenged Louisiana’s biracial government after the Civil War. In 1993, these words were covered by a granite slab with a new inscription, saying the obelisk honors “Americans on both sides” who died and that the conflict “should teach us lessons for the future.”

Before the vote, council member Head asked to keep the large monuments to Lee and Beauregard in place. But her motion received no support from the seven-person council.

The post New Orleans council votes to remove Confederate monuments appeared first on WTOP.

MIAMI (AP) — School districts from Florida to California reported receiving threats Thursday similar to those that closed Los Angeles’ massive school system earlier this week, though in most cases students attended class without interruption.

Tuesday’s districtwide closure in Los Angeles was sparked by an email threatening a large-scale attack. New York City schools received a similar threat, but officials there concluded it was a hoax.

The closure of a large U.S. district because of threats is rare, and the move in Los Angeles — with the nation’s second-largest school system — reflected the lingering unease in Southern California after the attack that killed 14 people at a holiday luncheon two weeks ago in San Bernardino.

Some of the districts affected by the latest threats are among the nation’s largest — Miami ranks fourth, Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County system is sixth, Houston seventh, Orlando 10th and Dallas 14th.

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TEXAS

Districts in Dallas and Houston and another near the Mexican border reported receiving threats, though none has been deemed credible.

Officials with the Dallas Independent School District said some teachers and staff members at two schools — Pinkston High and Martinez Elementary — received emailed threats and notified district officials. The district’s police department activated its emergency response protocol and began working with other law enforcement agencies to make sure the schools were safe, though no credible threat was found.

“We need to make sure that we don’t overreact to fear,” police Chief David Brown said.

Robert Mock, police chief for the Houston Independent School District, said random overnight searches by explosives-detecting dogs and patrol officers turned up nothing after district officials, including the superintendent, received the threat by email.

He said he didn’t want to downplay the message because “a threat is a threat.” But he said the message referred to weapons and explosives among unsophisticated content that was “so far over the top the logistics just didn’t pan out.”

In South Texas, the McAllen Independent School District said in an email to parents that it appears district officials received the same threatening email that targeted the Los Angeles and New York districts. The statement said the South Texas district “was able to trace the email to the same server that was used” in those hoaxes. The Texas district did not elaborate.

The McAllen district has about 25,000 students and 33 campuses.

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FLORIDA

School officials in Miami and Fort Lauderdale haven’t released details about the threats but said on their websites they were similar to those received in New York and Los Angeles.

In Miami, school officials said district police immediately contacted federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and promised to deploy extra security to schools.

In Orlando, Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said the threatening email was sent to the district’s general email late Wednesday, and principals have been asked to stay alert and keep students calm.

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LONG BEACH

Officials say the district received an email threat similar to the ones in other cities. Schools opened for the district’s 79,000 students on Thursday. Long Beach is adjacent to Los Angeles.

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INDIANA

Three school districts in the state canceled classes.

In Plainfield, west of Indianapolis, students were told to stay home after a threat was “directed to the high school.”

In Danville, the Danville Community School Corp. said two students — a 14-year-old freshman and a 17-year-old senior — were arrested. They’re accused of making threats against schools in separate incidents. Officials describe the first as a verbal threat that a classmate overheard and the second as a comment the senior posted on Facebook.

Danville Police Chief William Wright said a third threat was posted on social media early Thursday, and it was apparently tied to the threat against Plainfield schools.

Wright said officials are investigating and taking the threats seriously.

The Franklin Community Schools south of Indianapolis issued a statement saying it canceled Friday classes after receiving a “serious” threat and consulting with police. It says the validity of the threat received Thursday afternoon remained in question.

The statement did not disclose the nature of the threat, but Superintendent David Clendening told the Johnson County Daily Journal that police dogs were searching the Franklin Community High School after a caller reported a homemade bomb in a locker room area. The school also tweeted that it was on lockdown.

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SAN FRANCISCO

Officials with the San Francisco Unified School District said Thursday that officials determined a threat there was not credible. Schools are open Thursday.

Authorities say they inspected all schools and found nothing suspicious. Police presence is increased at schools around the district, which has 57,000 students.

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LAS VEGAS

A Clark County School District spokeswoman says administrators discovered an emailed threat after 9 a.m. Thursday similar to those received this week in Los Angeles, New York, Houston and other cities.

She says officials deemed the threat “less than credible.”

The district sent a letter to parents saying principals and school staff had been asked to stay alert and keep students calm and focused on learning.

It says it has crisis plans in place and police trained to detect and respond to threats.

The district has 356 campuses and more than 320,000 students.

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Associated Press writers Diana Heidgerd and David Warren in Dallas; Mike Graczyk in Houston; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The post Schools in several states threatened on heels of LA closure appeared first on WTOP.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William County police have been compliant with the county’s policy of reporting to federal authorities any person found to be in the country illegally, according to an internal police review and a preliminary report by the county’s contract auditor.

County leaders were concerned that the police had become lax in enforcing the county’s immigration enforcement policy after an ABC7 report listed it among the area’s “sanctuary” jurisdictions — areas that don’t comply with federal civil or deportation warrants, only criminal warrants, along with the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, the City of Alexandria and Charles County.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors requested an audit last month. The county police department also ordered an internal review.

The auditor, RSM, found that a member of the police department had given the reporter inaccurate information and that the department has been completely compliant.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors enacted a resolution in 2007 ensuring the county was fully cooperative with federal authorities when it came to illegal immigration.

County police say corrective action has been taken to address the oversight.

The post Prince William police comply with immigration policy, report says appeared first on WTOP.

Patch.com

Driver Assaulted, Puppy Stolen in Manassas Patch.com 19-year-old was sitting in his car when two men brandished a gun and demanded money. They took cash and his dog, according to police. Manassas, VA. By Greg Hambrick (Patch Staff) December 16, 2015. ShareTweetGoogle PlusRedditEmailComments0. and more »

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jurors were unable to reach a verdict Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, and it’s not yet clear if or when he may face another trial.

Five other officers also have been charged in the death of Gray, who suffered a severe spinal injury in the back of a police van after he was arrested in April. He died a week later. His death led to widespread unrest in the city, including some rioting, and the National Guard was called in to help restore order. The Justice Department has since launched a civil-rights investigation of the city’s police department, and the city’s already-high homicide rate has soared in the months since Gray died.

Here is a look at what has happened in the case:

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MISTRIAL

Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the case Wednesday, a day after he told deadlocked jurors to keep trying for a verdict.

The judge told the jurors they had “clearly been diligent” before he dismissed them.

Gray died after suffering a broken neck in a police van while handcuffed and shackled. An autopsy concluded his head was probably slammed against inside the van as the van turned a corner or stopped.

The case hinged on what prosecutors said Officer William Porter failed to do: They said Porter should have called an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed medical help, and should have buckled Gray’s seat belt. One prosecutor referred to the van as a “casket on wheels.”

Porter testified Gray didn’t seem hurt. He said he told the driver and a supervisor Gray wanted to go to a hospital.

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WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?

Prosecutors have not indicated whether they will seek to retry Porter. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby declined to comment on Wednesday’s result, citing a gag order. The judge was scheduled to meet with prosecutors and defense attorneys in his chambers on Thursday to discuss a possible retrial date. There are several factors at play:

— Prosecutors could seek to try Porter again on all four charges he faces. They could also decline to pursue some or all of the charges.

— Prosecutors had indicated they wanted to try Porter first because they wanted him to testify against at least two of his colleagues. But the mistrial could complicate that strategy, and depending on how the other trials are scheduled, he may not be available to testify.

— Defense attorneys could seek again to have Porter’s trial moved out of Baltimore. The hung jury reflects a deep divide among Baltimore residents about the officer’s culpability and suggests that a fair trial in the city might not be possible, said Steve Levin, a city defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.

Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the police van in which Gray suffered a severe spinal injury, is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 6. He’s charged with second-degree murder, the most serious charge in the case, along with manslaughter, assault and other offenses.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN BALTIMORE?

Demonstrators are gathering, and two have been arrested. Several protesters are marching through the city, chanting that they are seeking justice for Gray. But so far, everything appears to be peaceful.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said police are out on the streets to serve as peacekeepers. He said protesters have “a friend” in the department, but people who commit crimes and hurt people lose their right to call themselves demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Gray’s family has urged calm. Billy Murphy, who represents Gray’s mother and stepfather, said he has every confidence Officer William Porter will be convicted if he is tried a second time. He said Gray’s family is not angry and that they want people to remain calm, understand what happened and keep their emotions in check.

The post A guide to Freddie Gray case after mistrial for 1st officer appeared first on WTOP.

Fairfax County Animal Watch Washington Post No incidents were reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. FAIRFAX CITY. The following incidents were reported by the animal control section of the Fairfax City Police Department.

15 people displaced after townhouse fire in Manassas Washington Post Fifteen people were displaced from their homes after a fire swept through a set of townhouses in Manassas. Brett Bowman, fire rescue chief in Manassas, told NBC 4 that there were no major injuries. 15 people displaced & 4 town homes severely damaged in ... and more »