RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
Feb. 25 to March 3
Featured Investigation
The Florida school shooting that left 17 dead was directly tied to an Obama era push that has made school discipline more lenient across the country.
As Paul Sperry reports for RealClearInvestigations, more than 50 major school districts have followed the lead of Broward County in adopting policies aimed at keeping lawbreaking students out of the criminal justice system. As result, thousands of troubled, often violent students have committed crimes without legal consequence - including Nikolas Cruz before his rampage. Sperry reports: In 2013, the year before Cruz entered high school, the Broward County school system rewrote its discipline policy to make it much more difficult for administrators to suspend or expel problem students, or for campus police to arrest them for misdemeanors- including some of the crimes Cruz allegedly committed in the years and months leading up to the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at his Fort Lauderdale-area school. The new policy resulted from an Obama administration effort begun in 2011 to keep students in school and improve racial outcomes (timeline here), and came against a backdrop of other efforts to rein in perceived excesses in "zero tolerance" discipline policies, including in Florida. Broward school Superintendent Robert W. Runcie - a Chicagoan and Harvard graduate with close ties to President Obama and his Education Department - signed an agreement with the county sheriff and other local jurisdictions to trade cops for counseling. Students charged with various misdemeanors, including assault, would now be disciplined through participation in "healing circles," obstacle courses and other "self-esteem building" exercises. This approach has led to a rash of violent incidents across the nation, Sperry reports, citing examples from St. Paul, Oklahoma City and Buffalo. The approach also allowed Cruz to have the "clean" record required to pass a background check and purchase the weapon he used in his murderous spree. Read Full Article and Timeline Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Trump Ally Negotiated to Earn $75M in Effort to End 1MDB Probe
Wall Street Journal
A top Republican fundraiser close to President Trump, Elliott Broidy, was in negotiations to earn tens of millions of dollars if the Justice Department dropped its investigation into a multibillion-dollar graft scandal involving a Malaysian state investment fund.
Substance Abuse Problems Plague Tampa Rescuers
Tampa Bay Times
There have been at least 47 drug- and alcohol-related incidents involving Hillsborough county fire rescue employees since 2010, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Times also found that county's system for addressing drug use is far weaker than most similar-sized fire departments in Florida. Employees aren't randomly tested — they know urine samples are collected only in January or July. And as the incidents stacked up, county officials further relaxed drug and alcohol policies for firefighters, and dismissed a dire warning from a former employee.
Pentagon Hasn't Stopped Military Revenge Porn
Vice News
Nearly a year after the Pentagon pledged to crack down on online misconduct aftera nude photo-sharing scandal known as Marines Unitedrocked the military, service members and veterans continue to face regular harassment and abuse on social media. A Vice News investigation found sexually explicit photos and derogatory comments alongside banal memes and jokes about military life. Victims and advocates said "revenge porn" and harassment remain epidemic in the armed forces. Food Stamp Fraud at 35,891 Indie Food Retailers
CNS News
An estimated 35,891 food retailers around the country engaged in food stamp fraud, illegally "trafficking" more than $1 billion in benefits annually over the three-year period from 2012 through 2014. Recipients sold their benefits for cash to food retailers, often at a discount, according the USDA. HUD Spends $31,000 on Dining Set for Carson's Office
New York Times
Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson's office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans to slash HUD's programs for the homeless, elderly and poor, according to federal procurement records. Carson said he would cancel the purchase, but questions about his HUD stewardship don't end there. He recently bowed to pressure to have HUD's inspector general investigate the involvement of his son - an entrepreneur and federal contractor - in a department-sponsored listening tour of Baltimore last summer. Why Is Bourbon So Damn Expensive?
Daily Beast
Lew Bryson at the Daily Beast unpacks cost of bourbon, from $250 non-reusable barrels (non-reusable for bourbon, that is) to ever-rising taxes. "At the end of the day, as drinkers want ever-older whiskies and tax collectors see the liquor industry as an easy way to gain ever more revenue, it's understandable that prices have climbed," he concludes. His advice: Hold the splash of Mila Kunis (who endorses Jim Beam) and opt instead for old-line, bottom-shelf brands that get no promotional spending. Ain't that a kick in the head? | 
