Top FBI Aide Probed for Illegal Political Activity
Circa News
The government is investigating whether FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe violated a ban on political activity by FBI agents in publicly supporting his wife's 2015 Democratic campaign for the Virginia state senate. Evidence - photos from social media - came from an ex-agent suing McCabe for gender bias. Her cause was supported by former national security aide Michael Flynn two years before McCabe's bureau investigated him. Drug Courts Hooked on Anti-Addiction Drug Marketing
ProPublica
The nation's opioid crisis has led to a proliferation of special local courts where drug offenders appear before judges with broad discretion to impose alternatives to prison. The alternative of choice is Vivitrol, an anti-addiction drug whose profits have soared. Also rising: concerns about the drug company Alkermes exploiting the courts as a marketing opportunity, and worries about handing judges a figurative script pad. The Toxic Soil of Philly's Trendy River Wards
Philly.com
The lead plants are long gone from Philadelphia's gentrifying "river wards." But the area's development boom is disturbing their toxic legacy: lead that has sat dormant for decades. In an extensive investigation, the Inquirer and Daily News tested exposed soil in 114 locations — parks, playgrounds, backyards. Nearly three out of four had hazardous levels of lead contamination. Even tiny amounts can permanently lower a child's IQ. China's Mistress Dispellers
The New Yorker
Post-Mao changes to Chinese marriage laws made divorces easier to secure. And so with rising prosperity came skyrocketing divorces, a third precipitated by adultery. Much is at stake, especially for betrayed wives. Enter the "mistress dispellers" - organizations that identify and discourage wandering spouses. Truckers and Coders Unite
Bloomberg
At Starsky Robotics, truck drivers and software engineers work together on the self-driving future of trucking. The ultimate aim is to have trucks drive themselves along highways, but when they exit allow truckers at remote centers, each monitoring several rigs, to take over and drive them along local roads. With this novel mix of blue- and white-collar work, automation needn't be so threatening to jobs. Few Lawmakers Disclose Tax Info
Roll Call
Amid all the congressional clamor to see President Trump's tax returns, representatives and senators from both sides of the aisle have struck a blow for transparency by publicly releasing their own tax returns. Or at least, a whopping six of them have, on top of the six who already release them routinely. | 
