Obama Commutes ‘Harsh’ Sentences for Over 100 Inmates

Another 111 federal inmates saw their prison sentences reduced by the Obama administration on Tuesday, including nearly three dozen people with life sentences. The commutations, on top of 214 that were announced earlier this month , bring the total since Obama took office to more than 670 - more than the past 10 presidents combined, according to the Department of Justice.

Eldridge, Arkansas Democrats back medical marijuana

Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge endorsed legalizing medical marijuana on Monday, a move that comes days after Arkansas Democrats voted to support making the drug available to some patients. But both Eldridge and state Democrats stopped short of endorsing either one of two competing ballot measures on medical marijuana.

Anthony Weiner Scandal: Is Sexting an Addiction?

"Sexting, like drug use, leads to a rush of dopamine in the brain," addiction expert Dr. Perry Halkitis, tells TheWrap It's easy to laugh at Anthony Weiner's latest sexting scandal, after all, the former New York Congressman - who resigned in disgrace in 2011 after sending explicit picture of himself to women he met online - has done it again. "It's an addiction," Prof.

What Will Recreational Marijuana Legalization Mean for California?

"This [marijuana legalization] initiative goes further than any iniative in the world," says Lynne Lyman, California State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance , speaking of Prop 64, the 2016 ballot initiative calling for the legalization of commerical marijuana sales in California. "We're really setting a new floor for what marijuana legalization should include."

Clinton knocks ‘outlandish Trumpian ideas’ in policy speech

A California woman with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, held a two-day party for her friends and relatives to say goodbye before taking her life with a dose of prescribed drugs. In early July, Betsy Davis emailed her closest friends and relatives to invite them to a two-day party, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina,... Ramiro Osorio Cristales was 5 years old the day Guatemalan troops dragged his mother and siblings to their deaths in a massacre.

Prison reforms could increase terror risk

Over the past 25 years we have seen the government take different approaches to tackling crime. In the 80's we saw the emergence of President Ronald Reagan's 'War on Drugs' and in the 90's we saw President Bill Clinton Prison reforms could increase terror risk Hillary's deadly Iran deal Bill Clinton, Gary Johnson to speak at Asian-American and Pacific Islander forum MORE Barack Obama Prison reforms could increase terror risk Harry Reid's final fight Obama plays 300th round of golf as president MORE has "shortened the prison sentences for dozens of additional drug offendersa " according to CNN as a part of his continuous efforts to "reign in lengthy punishments for nonviolent crimes."

In U.S., 13% of Adults Say They Smoke Marijuana

Thirteen percent of U.S. adults tell Gallup they currently smoke marijuana, nearly double the percentage who reported smoking marijuana only three years ago. Although use of the drug is still prohibited by federal law, the number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana use has grown from two in 2013, Colorado and Washington, to four today -- with the addition of Alaska and Oregon -- plus the District of Columbia.

Lots of elbows in 4-way GOP primary to replace Kline

Minnesota Republicans are finally ready to make their pick in the 2nd Congressional District, crystallizing the field in what's likely to be a tight contest to replace one of Minnesota's most prominent members of Congress. Tuesday's Republican primary will settle a bitter four-way primary between GOP candidates eager to take over for retiring Rep. John Kline.

Obama shortens terms for 214 prisoners; 4 from East Tennessee

President Barack Obama on Wednesday cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what the White House called the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century. Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent drug crimes, reflecting Obama's long-stated view that the U.S. needs to remedy the consequences of decades of sentencing requirements that put tens of thousands of Americans behind bars for far too long.

President Obama commutes several Ohioans’ drug sentences as part of mass clemency

President Barack Obama on Wednesday commuted the prison sentences of 214 federal inmates - including at least seven Ohioans - most of whom were convicted of drug crimes. A White House spokesman said the number of commutations issued on Wednesday are the most granted in a single day since at least 1900, and brings the total number of commutations issued by Obama to 562 - more than the prior nine presidents combined and more than any individual president in nearly a century.

The Latest: Texas balloon company suspends operations

Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides has suspended operations after a gondola hit a high-powered transmission line Saturday in Lockhart, Texas and caught fire, killing all 16 passengers. The crash "has taken from us our owner and chief pilot, Skip Nichols, as well as 15 passengers, all of whom saw what was planned to be a special day turn into an unspeakable tragedy," Sarah Nichols, Skip Nichols' mother and the company's operations manager, wrote on Facebook late Sunday.