In the federal drug trafficking case United States v. Lambis, the use of evidence from a cell phone tracker has been controversial. Dubbed the StingRay by its manufacturers, the device mimics the activity of a cell tower. Phones send data to it and receive signals from it just as they would with a real tower. By measuring signal strength, a StingRay can tell roughly how far away the phone is. And by taking measurements from different places, the phone's location can be pinpo

Donna Borak of the wall street journal recently published an article unpacking the tenets of the proposed party platform as the DNC opens in Philadelphia. Highlighted among these concerns is the unusual sounding prospect of Postal banking. The idea is this: the infrastructure available to the USPS can be used to provide basic financial services for low-income and struggling Americans. Without the pressure to generate profit, the post office may be able to provide savings, che

With all that's going on under the big top in Cleveland, the concept of "job creators" is back in vogue. And since his status as a business owner and "job creator" is you-know-who's most important qualification, I think it's worth looking at what contributes to job growth. So, what makes jobs? Is it business owners? Entrepreneurs? Consumer demand? Government stimulus and subsidy? Let's find out. Spoiler alert: there is no easy answer. It's a combination of all the above, and

Vulpine wordplay notwithstanding, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson has laid serious allegations against FNC chief executive and chairman Roger Ailes. In a complaint made in New Jersey superior court, available here, Carlson alleges a pattern of gender discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment. The Stanford graduate alleges consistent harassment from Ailes and others during her tenure at Fox News. Once famously quipping that "pants aren't allowed" on Fox & Friend

A recently published poll, a joint effort between NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, shows how difficult it can be for working people to get treatment for health problems. Chief among the problems shown in the study is a lack of health related leave time. While the Affordable Care Act, among other efforts, reduced the percentage of uninsured adults to 10.4% (as of the 2014 census), many insured workers have a hard time re

On Thursday, July 7th, operations at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles ceased for one hour ahead of negotiations between the ILWU (International Longshore Warehouse Union) and the Pacific Maritime Association— the former represents the dock workers running the port, and the latter employs them. Union officials gave advance notice to the bosses of their plan to hold a one hour work cessation between 11 a.m. and noon yesterday. It serves as a reminder of the great potenti