RSN: On the Eve of Obama's Cuba Trip 9 Cuban Migrants Die at Sea, Introducing the Keystone Pipeline's Bigger, Uglier Older Brother, EFF, Access Now, ACLU | Mr. President: Weakening Apple's Defenses Puts Us All at Risk

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Charles Pierce | Introducing the Keystone Pipeline's Bigger, Uglier Older Brother 
 
Charles Pierce, Esquire 
Pierce writes: "It's been a while since we checked in on our old friend, the Keystone XL pipeline, the now mercifully dormant continent-spanning death funnel and conservative fetish object designed to bring the world's dirtiest fossil fuel from the environmental hellspout of northern Alberta down the spine of the continent." 
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EFF, Access Now, ACLU | Mr. President: Weakening Apple's Defenses Puts Us All at Risk 
EFF, Access Now, ACLU 
Excerpt: "As civil liberties groups committed to the freedom of thought that underpins a democratic society, this fight is our fight. It is the fight of every person who believes in a future where technology does not come at the cost of privacy or individual security and where there are reasonable safeguards on government power." 
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Ta-Nehisi Coates | Nina Simone's Face 
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic 
Coates writes: "While it is hard for all women in Hollywood, it is particularly hard for black women, and even harder for black women who share the dark skin, broad nose and full lips of Nina Simone. This fact is not separable from this country's racist history, nor is the notion of 'darkening up' a lighter skinned black person." 
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The US Government Is Still Fighting to Bury the Senate Torture Report 
Alex Emmons, The Intercept 
Emmons writes: "Government lawyers on Thursday continued their fight to bury the Senate Torture Report, arguing before the D.C. District Court of Appeals that the 6,700-page text could not be released on procedural grounds." 
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More High-Ranking Officers Being Charged With Sex Crimes Against Subordinates 
Craig Whitlock and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, The Washington Post 
Excerpt: "The U.S. military has stepped up investigations of high-ranking officers for sexual assault, records show, curtailing its traditional deference toward senior leaders as it cracks down on sex crimes." 
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On the Eve of Obama's Cuba Trip 9 Cuban Migrants Die at Sea 
Associated Press 
Excerpt: "Nine Cuban migrants died at sea and 18 others were rescued by a cruise ship after their 30-foot boat was found about 130 miles from the Florida coast, the US coast guard said on Saturday." 
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Colorado Considers Bill to Make It Easier to Sue Big Oil Over Fracking Earthquakes 
Xian Chiang-Waren, Grist 
Chiang-Waren writes: "If you were under the impression that ordinary people couldn't do much to hold Big Oil companies directly accountable for the environmental havoc they wreak, you definitely weren't alone. But, if a bill currently making its way through Colorado's state legislature becomes reality, Coloradans harmed by quakes linked to the fracking boom may be able to sue frackers." 
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RSN: Pope Francis Tells Congress 'Every Life Is Sacred,' Says the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

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Noam Chomsky: History Doesn't Go in a Straight Line 
 
Noam Chomsky, Jacobin 
Excerpt: "The neoliberal policies are certainly a regression. For the majority of the population in the US, there's been pretty much stagnation and decline in the last generation. And not because of any economic laws. These are policies." 
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Pope Francis Tells Congress 'Every Life Is Sacred,' Says the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished 
Mark Berman, The Washington Post 
Berman writes: "Pope Francis used his landmark address to Congress on Thursday to reiterate his belief that the death penalty should be abolished, directly tying the issue to his advocacy for the poor and underrepresented." 
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Border Patrol Agent Is Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Mexican Teen 
Nigel Duara, Los Angeles Times 
Excerpt: "Federal authorities have charged a U.S. Border Patrol agent who killed a Mexican teenager in a cross-border shooting with second-degree murder." 
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The Children's Place Mega-Chain Continues to Source Clothes in Unsafe Sweatshops 
Adam Matthews and David Bergman, Al Jazeera America 
Excerpt: "Both styles were a bargain, just $19.95 at retail and, after discount, well under half that on TCP's website at the time of writing. Belying their carefree design, the mini surfer dude shorts came from a cheerless factory in a landlocked city in a country half a world away - Shams Styling Wears, located on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka." 
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Transgender Inmate Wins legal Victory After Mistreatment by Prison Guards 
Associated Press 
Excerpt: "A transgender inmate who says she was called 'it' and 'some kind of animal' by guards who watched her shower has won a legal victory that forces the Maryland prison system to better train for how to treat transgender people, advocates say." 
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Edward Snowden to Attend Meeting on Privacy-Improving 'Snowden Treaty' 
Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK 
Pilkington writes: "The NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden will be beamed by video link into a New York meeting on Thursday, at which a draft international 'treaty' bearing his name will be launched in an attempt to persuade governments around the world to strengthen privacy laws." 
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Colorado Supreme Court to Make Historic Ruling on Fracking Bans 
Gary Wockner, EcoWatch 
Wockner writes: "Tensions are rising to a crescendo across Colorado as the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to hear the extremely controversial issue of whether fracking bans and long-term moratoriums are allowed in the state." 
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