RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
July 30 to August 5 Featured Investigation Illegal immigration is now a battleground for Democrat-run cities and states thatwant to resist PresidentTrump.It is also a way for Democrats to help their friends. James Varney reports forRealClearInvestigationsthatthe passive resistance long favored by sanctuary cities - symbolized by their refusal to help federal officialsenforce immigrations laws - is giving way to more active strategies, including funneling millions of dollars to progressive groups, to provide undocumented aliens with something courts have ruled they are not entitled to: free lawyers.Varney writes: Even as it faces severe fiscal problems, Chicago recently committed $1.3 million to such aid, while the District of Columbia will spend at least $500,000. Cash-strapped New York state has earmarked $10 million while New York City has pledged another $16 million. Seattle's City Council approved $750,000. All told, at least a dozen jurisdictions have budgeted more than $54 million to provide legal assistance for illegal immigrants. Varney reports that the most of the money will pay for attorneys working for progressive organizations - including the Vera Institute for Justice, the New York Immigration Coalition and the Heartland Alliance - to represent immigrants before administrative courts. Varneyalsoreports that, at least for now,these effortsare more a response to Trump's words than to his deeds: The irony is that while candidate Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, deportations nationwide have fallen month-over-month lately, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics. From a high of 23,698 last October, deportations from all 24 of ICE's "area of responsibilities" fell to 16,568 in May and 14,283 in June. On the other hand, there has been a slight uptick in deportations in the Democratic strongholds and big cities where the funds are being created. ICE's Los Angeles area, for instance, had 558 deportations in Oct. 2016, and while June 2017 had fewer (510), that drop came after there were 712 deportations in May. Similarly, the Chicago area's figures went from 323 last October to 454 in April and 576 in May before dropping back to 384 last month. Read Full Article Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Mothers Who Rape Their Sons
news.com.au
"She preyed on the fact I was coming into puberty and made me feel important and special," says one victim of a type of sexual abuse that gets almost no attention: mothers who rape their sons. University of Canberra researcher Lucetta Thomas is shedding light on the problem, which commonly involves both mental and physical coercion. Ninety-four men abused by their mothers filled out online surveys, and of that group, Thomas then interviewed 23 at length. This article follows up with some of the victims. Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?
The Atlantic
More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they're verging on a mental-health crisis, writes Jean M. Twenge in an adaptation from her book "iGen." Quote: "The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression." And: "The shift is stunning: 12th-graders in 2015 were going out less often than eighth-graders did as recently as 2009." Lost Dream of Leaving Hometowns for a Better Life
Wall Street Journal
More and more Americans no longer believe they can pack up and leave their small towns to find a better life. A range of economic and cultural factors explain the decline in geographic mobility; among them are incentives like welfare and Medicaid that help persuade people to stay put, leaving rural America with what once were considered inner-city problems. This is an in-depth look at some poisonous dynamics roiling American democracy and the economy -- and challenging the American dream. Al Gore's House Still Hogs Energy
National Center for Public Policy Research
After "An Inconvenient Truth" came out in 2006, Al Gore pledged to make his energy-guzzling manse in Nashville's posh Belle Meade enclave more environmentally friendly. But with "An Inconvenient Sequel" in theaters now, a critical new look at the energy usage of chez Gore finds that the solar panels and other green upgrades aren't making any difference. The conservative National Center for Public Policy Research says the home consumes 21 times the energy the average household uses. And its usage per square foot makes it an "energy hog" at any size, the center says, drawing on electricity data from the local utility and other reporting. D.C. Death of Ex-Putin Aide Was a Russian Hit, FBI Agents Say
BuzzFeed News
The death was officially ruled an accident, but two FBI agents say Vladimir Putin's former media czar was the victim of a Russian hit in a Dupont Circle hotel room on the eve of a meeting with the Justice Department. In the latest installment in a series on lethal Kremlin skulduggery, BuzzFeed reports that some American officials fear the threat has hit home. Security Risks in Pentagon's Program to Recruit Immigrants
Fox News
A Pentagon investigation has uncovered potential security risks in a program used to recruit immigrants into military service in return for expedited citizenship. Military leaders, concerned about foreign infiltration as well as participants now unaccounted for, suspended new applications to the program. Dangerous, ‘Silent Reservoir' for Gonorrhea: The Throat
New York Times
Drug-resistant gonorrhea has been on the rise globally for years. Now scientists say the epidemic is being driven by a particular mode of transmission: oral sex. Only one commercially available antibiotic still consistently works against drug-resistant strains. But that's no match for so-called super gonorrhea. Blowing Out Birthday Candles Multiplies Cake Bacteria
The Atlantic
Next birthday party, make a wish that you don't catch anything. All that huffing and puffing increases the amount of bacteria on a cake by 1,400 percent, a new Clemson University study reveals. | 
