RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
April 23 to April 29 Featured Investigation Suddenly it seems the Constitution is up for grabs, as longstanding protections of individual rights are being challenged in the name of social justice. The first amendment is under siege at elite college campuses where violence has been deployed to shut down conservative speakers in the name of … free speech. The sixth amendment's guarantees of fair trial are also being questioned in the broad push to address sexual assault. Campuses are at the center of this movement, but so too is the military, as James Varney reports for RealClearInvestigations. In response to claims that it has long tolerated sexual misconduct while often punishing alleged victims, the Pentagon has instituted a series of reforms that, critics say, go too far in the other direction, stripping the accused of their constitutional rights. Varney writes: Military attorneys, criminal investigators and administrative experts say new procedures implemented in recent years have curtailed defendants' rights to cross-examine witnesses, conduct discovery and present evidence. Commanding officers have been stripped of their ability to dismiss charges they deem dubious or unfounded. As a result, the atmosphere in the armed services regarding sexual assault has come to resemble the more publicized one on college campuses, where critics say bedrock principles of American justice, most notably the presumption of innocence, are being given short shrift. Read Full Story Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Shady Arms Procurers Were Secretly Let Off Hook in Obama's Iran Deal
Politico
When the Iran nuclear deal was reached, President Obama said the Iranian-born prisoners he was releasing "were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses." In reality, some were accused by Obama's own Justice Department of being part of an illegal arms procurement network. And in unpublicized court filings, charges were dropped against 14 others, all fugitives. FBI Confirms Grand Jury Subpoenas Used in Clinton Email Probe
Politico
Contrary to widespread reports, federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas in connection with an investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, an FBI official indicated in a court filing, in response to a lawsuit by Judicial Watch. Use of grand jury subpoenas could have been a political cudgel for Republicans if known earlier, since that tool would indicate the investigation was criminal in nature and not simply a security review, as Clinton aides often claimed. Default Rate for Federal Loan Program Exceeds That of Housing Crisis
Wall Street Journal
The federal Parent Plus loan program has millions of borrowers, many with subprime credit ratings. Its default rate exceeds the rate for U.S. mortgages at the peak of the housing crisis, and the debt is almost impossible to extinguish through bankruptcy. America's Other Drug Problem
ProPublica
Every year nursing homes nationwide flush, burn or throw out tons of valuable prescription drugs. It's estimated that U.S. taxpayers, through Medicare, "spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year on drugs for nursing home patients — much of which literally go down the tubes." United Airlines Had 53 Animals Die on U.S. Flights in Last 5 Years
USA Today
The death of a giant rabbit on a United Airlines flight from London to Chicago focused the spotlight again on the carrier, after a widely criticized incident in which a bumped passenger was dragged off a plane. Of the 136 animals that have died aboard U.S. passenger flights in the last five years, more than a third died on United. New College Crime Bill Deputizes Professors as Campus Security
Reason
Under a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate, a vast new array of higher-education employees—including all staff and faculty at some schools—would be designated as campus security authorities. The law could cost colleges millions for failure to follow complex and costly new sexual-misconduct policies. At Churchill Downs, Immigration Crackdown Causes Unease
Wall Street Journal
As the Kentucky Derby approaches, the Trump Administration's toughened enforcement is rattling horse trainers and their workers, an industry that quietly depends on a workforce of immigrants. "We'd be out of business if we didn't have them," one trainer said. | 
