OUR PICKSHomicides Rising in DC, but Police Solving Far Fewer Cases | Which Cyber Regulations Fit Which Sectors? | Power Plant Problems ‘Still Likely’ in Extreme Weather, and more
· Homicides Rising in DC, but Police Solving Far Fewer Cases
Though it’s no longer the homicide capital of the U.S., the nation’s capital is witnessing a multiyear spike in the number of homicides but solving far fewer of them
· The Case That Could Destroy the Government
What was once a fringe legal theory now stands a real chance of being adopted by the Supreme Court
· Which Cyber Regulations Fit Which Sectors?
The Biden administration’s new National Cybersecurity Strategy has much in common with previous guidance, it is breaking new ground in several areas
· Right-Wing Figures Slammed for Rushing to Brand Niagara Blast a Terrorist Attack
A New York couple were killed on Wednesday when their car crashed at a border crossing between the US and Canada
· A Year After Devastating Winter Storm, Power Plant Problems ‘Still Likely’ in Extreme Weather
Two recent reports reveal the continued vulnerability of the U.S. energy grid to frigid weather
· Senators’ Top Target in Border Talks: Tighter Asylum Rules for Migrants
Republicans insist on changes to immigration policy as condition for backing Ukraine aid package
Homicides Rising in DC, but Police Solving Far Fewer Cases (AP / VOA News)
Though it’s no longer the homicide capital of the United States, the nation’s capital is witnessing a multiyear spike in the number of homicides but solving far fewer of them.
The percentage of homicides that are solved by the Metropolitan Police Department has declined sharply in 2023, leaving the city on track to record its lowest so-called “clearance rate” or “closure rate” in more than 15 years.
As of Nov. 13, only 75 of the 244 homicides committed this year have been solved by police. Factoring in the 33 prior-year homicides cleared thus far in 2023, the overall closure rate stands at around 45%. That would be the lowest rate dating back at least to 2007, according to statistics provided by the MPD.
Nationally, the average clearance rate tends to hover between 50% and 60%, said Rick Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The Case That Could Destroy the Government (Noah Rosenblum, The Atlantic)
The case involves garden-variety securities fraud. George R. Jarkesy Jr., a right-wing activist and conservative-radio talk-show host, ran a pair of investment funds with $24 million in assets. But he misrepresented how the funds were run, paid himself and his partner exorbitant fees, and inflated the assets’ value. As punishment, the SEC fined him several hundred thousand dollars and prohibited him from working in some parts of the securities industry—very standard stuff.
Jarkesy responded with what can be described only as chutzpah. He didn’t just contest the SEC’s ruling; he alleged that the SEC’s entire process against him was unconstitutional. Among other things, he asserted that Congress never had the authority to empower the SEC and that the SEC adjudicator who punished him was too independent from presidential control. (Cont.)
