Jane Mayer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, has a new book out this month about the political power of America’s wealthiest citizens, including the billionaire libertarian activists Charles and David Koch. Among Dark Money’s myriad revelations—we haven’t finished it yet!—is that one or both of the Koch brothers apparently paid a P.I. firm run by Howard Safir, the police commissioner under New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, to dig up dirt on Mayer to retaliate against her watershed New Yorker profile of the brothers from 2010:

In a squat Washington office building three blocks from the White House, a boiler room operation formed. Beginning in the summer of 2010, as the Kochs were ramping up spending on midterm elections, half a dozen or so highly paid operatives labored secretly in borrowed office space in the back of the lobbying firm run by the former congressman J.C. Watts. Their aim, according to a well-informed source, was to counteract The New Yorker’s story on the Koch brothers by undermining me. “Dirt, dirt, dirt,” is what the source later told me they were digging for in my life. “If they couldn’t find it, they’d create it.”

Reprising the intimidating tactics that critics of Koch Industries had complained of for years, a private investigative firm with powerful political and law enforcement connections was retained. The firm, it appears, was Vigilant Resources International, whose founder and chairman, Howard Safir, had been New York City’s police commissioner under the former mayor Rudy Giuliani.

When reached by Mayer, Safir simply said: “I don’t comment. I don’t confirm or deny it.” Safir’s son and employee, Adam, initially declined to comment, but told The New York Times this week that “I subscribe to The New Yorker and I read it. As far as what we do, we don’t talk about clients, whether we have them or don’t have them. Even answering the question would violate the policy of our business.”

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Money-His...

Gawker first noted what appeared to be a coordinated smear campaign against Mayer almost exactly five years ago, in January 2011. And the directive seems to still be in force. It’s otherwise difficult to explain the strange effort to undermine her book’s exposé of the Koch family’s previously secret business ties to Nazi Germany, where Charles and David Koch’s father, Fred Koch, had helped construct an oil refinery (which ended being bombed by the Allied Forces). At least two conservative outlets, The Weekly Standard and Powerline, have recently attempted to argue that Mayer is something of a hypocrite by noting that she is a descendant of Emanuel Lehman, one of the founders of the now-defunct banking firm Lehman Brothers, which did business with Nazi Germany and opposed boycotts of the country.

Both of those outlets discovered this particular family link not by some feat of historical research, as unearthing the Koch family’s contribution to the Nazi war machine likely required, but by locating Mayer’s publicly available New York Times wedding announcement, which describes her as a “great-great-granddaughter of Emanuel Lehman.” This is already a fairly thin reed to stand on—according to Politico, Mayer has never met a blood relative who worked at Lehman Brothers—and basically negates the charge of hypocrisy it’s supposed to support. After all, the entire thrust of Mayer’s recent reporting about Fred Koch’s ties to Nazi Germany is that his descendants have attempted to erase this particular episode from various histories of their family’s immense fortune. (As Mayer writes in her book, the entire episode “has been excised from the official corporate history of Koch Industries.”) The suggestion that Mayer was trying to bury a piece of her own family history by allowing the New York Times to highlight it in her wedding announcement—whose contents are fact-checked by Times staffers—is self-evidently absurd.

If you’ve heard anything more about the Koch brothers’ efforts to discredit Jane Mayer, please do get in touch.

Email the author: trotter@gawker.com · PGP key + fingerprint · Photo credit: Getty Images

The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker’s Sundance darling period piece about the deadliest slave insurrection in American history, was purchased by Fox Searchlight on early Tuesday morning for $17.5 million. It was the largest deal in Sundance history, and coverage immediately suggested that The Birth of a Nation will function as some way through which the Academy can make up for this year’s diversity debacle.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion is a fascinating story, an important one, and an under-examined one. Nate Parker struggled for years to get the project made, and I have no doubt that—as with almost any film rooted in a black experience or with a mostly black cast—it was a frequently frustrating fight. I will certainly be buying a ticket to see The Birth of a Nation when it comes to theaters. But part of me is torn about sitting through yet another film that centers around the brutalization of black people.

Frankly, I’m tired of slavery movies.

It’s obvious at this point that Hollywood has a problem with only paying attention to non-white people when they’re playing a stereotype. Their love of the slave movie genre brings this issue out in the worst way. I’m tired of watching black people go through some of the worst pain in human history for entertainment, and I’m tired of white audiences falling over themselves to praise a film that has the courage and honesty to tell such a brutal story. When movies about slavery or, more broadly, other types of violence against black people are the only types of films regularly deemed “important” and “good” by white people, you wonder if white audiences are only capable of lauding a story where black people are subservient.

Of the six films actually produced by black people that have been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, three are about slavery or slavery-adjacent violence against black people (The Color Purple, Django Unchained and 12 Years A Slave). The fourth is Selma and the fifth is Precious, two movies that focus on black women being emotionally and physically beaten down in almost every way possible. The last is the The Blind Side, where a white woman who butts in and makes a black kid who was already a promising athlete into an even better athlete.

From a simple visual perspective, I’m tired of being told that I have to watch black actors in physical pain and endure mental abuse for two hours in order to be worthy of a distinction. I don’t want to watch a black body being lashed open so white people can finally “get it.” I’m tired of black actors not only having to live through the trauma of acting in those films, but for also having few other options in front of them.

Often, films about slavery receive laborious, highbrow praise for truly showing the horrors of the institution to a larger audience—the unspoken suggestion being that after watching these films, white Americans will better understand and empathize with the slave experience. However, it really smacks of an opportunity to assuage what apparently is a deep emotional burden of being white and having benefited from white supremacy. How nice, that a white viewer can feel good about themselves for shedding a tear during Amistad. As much as I’d like them to, I think it’s clear by 2016 that films about slavery do not help us become a more tolerant or understanding society. I have no doubt that there exists a white person who loved 12 Years A Slave and who also thinks Donald Trump makes some good points.

In the case of The Birth of a Nation, one could argue that Parker is educating white audiences about a story they may not have learned otherwise. That’s probably true. Film can be illuminating and didactic, but at the same time, we have a serious problem if Hollywood is anywhere close to being a major source of education about slavery. The complicated, harrowing, lasting history of slavery should be taught in classrooms. No person should finally understand the violence of the institution because they saw Lupita Nyong’o being whipped onscreen.

As a black American, slavery is part of my history, but it is by no means all of my history. The disproportionate attention paid to movies about slavery or the Civil Right’s Movement also helps to strengthen the misguided notion that those were the only “bad times” for black people in America. Aren’t we proud of black people for getting through that? It’s a condescending and severely limited lesson. Despite attempts to sanitize the history of slavery, most Americans do know slavery was A Bad Thing; we understand the resilience of black Americans, if only because we’re still here. When will we get anything more complex, or more real?

Creatively, these films also face clear limitations. 12 Years a Slave and The Birth of a Nation are historical films inspired by real people. But most slaves couldn’t write or leave behind narrative accounts of their lives, so much of our information comes from the perspective of white people.

I want stories about Solomon Northup and Nat Turner and Harriet Tubman to be told. But I also want to watch movies about black debutante balls and the Great Migration and a coming-of-age movie about a black teenager in Houston who loves to skateboard and gets into trouble with her Desi best friend. Those films are surely out there waiting to be made. I guarantee that somewhere there sits a great screenplay about a seamstress who wants to be a nightclub singer set during the Harlem Renaissance. Or a love story about black couple during World War II. Maybe someone right now is working on a biopic about Eartha Kitt or Crispus Attucks or some lesser-known hero like Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the highest ranking black man ever in a European army and the father of Alexandre Dumas.

Until there are other types of films made and recorded as significant contributions to the canon, American audiences will rarely be challenged to see black people as anything other than former slaves, sassy black friends, domestics. Right now, Americans are only comfortable with a certain type of black person onscreen, but I am entirely unconcerned with their comfort.

A colleague of mine noted that The Birth of a Nation might be a good way to bookend the slave film genre for awhile. Indeed, as it’s not the traditional slave storyline and as it’s already received the effusive praise of many white people at Sundance, it’s probably going to be great. I like the idea of celebrating this film and then putting a lid on the slavery genre for a while.

In that time, we can introduce new narratives and expand the scope of our humanity; we can represent the fullness of our experience, as we and all other minority groups deserve. Audiences will learn to identify with black pain that doesn’t stem from chains and whips. I want those stories to be considered seriously by white audiences, just as movies about white people learning how to ballroom dance or talk to computers or play the drums are. We have more stories to tell. It’s time we give those a fair chance.

Contact the author at kara.brown@jezebel.com .

The fees you pay to invest in mutual funds are “tumbling toward zero” thanks to the growing popularity of low-cost index fund investing and, more broadly, the growing realization among average investors that well-paid Wall Street guys can’t pick winning investments any better than you can.

http://gawker.com/the-company-th...

Since Amazon.com released over 50 pages of Kristin Cavallari’s forthcoming book Balancing in Heels earlier this week, a few things have become clear. First and foremost, as the title page states, the book is “not a medical manual.” Second, it has a lot of pictures. One of the most revealing elements in Amazon’s release, however, is a declarative statement Kristin made in the introduction.

“For the first time in my life, I know who I am,” she writes. “I’m pretty simple.”

This has been 500 Days of Kristin.

[Photo via Getty]

Chris Hughes, the soon-to-be-former owner of The New Republic, recently purchased a West Village townhouse for $23.5 million (after unloading his old Soho loft for $8.5 million). According to the New York Post, Hughes’ new lair on West 12th Street boasts, among other amenities, a functional underground tunnel between its main building and a “carriage house” on the same property. But that’s not at all! Here’s what else we know about Hughes’ new tunnel:

• It is 10 feet wide
• It is “beautifully lit” (according to a nameless source who spoke to the Post)
• It has a screening room and a wine cellar
• It does not resemble the tunnel used by the drug lord Joaquín Guzmán to escape Mexico’s Altiplano Prison (“‘The homes are connected via subterranean tunnel, but it’s nothing like El Chapo’s,’ joked a visitor.”)
  
• It does not feel like a tunnel (“‘There’s no tunnel feel at all,’ a source marveled.”)
• It used to be “more rustic” (“When [the previous owner] bought the home for $3.4 million in 2004, it came with a more rustic version of the tunnel, which he improved, a source said.”)

We’ve asked Hughes for photos of his new tunnel, and will update this post if we hear back. If you know more about this tunnel, drop us a line.

Email the author: trotter@gawker.com · PGP key + fingerprint · Photo credit: Charlie Rose

The once-heralded blood-testing company Theranos received a letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week outlining key areas in which its laboratory fails to meet federal guidelines. The notice, which is dated Monday, requires the company to bring itself into compliance within 10 calendar days of its receipt.

According to the CMS, practices at Theranos’ laboratory “pose immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety”—boilerplate language the agency uses when companies are found noncompliant.

The notice comes on the heels of a remarkable downfall for Theranos, whose CEO went from posing for laudatory magazine cover stories to defending her business against a slew of accusations after a series of Wall Street Journal investigative reports alleging its pin-prick blood-sampling method is not as effective as promised.

“This survey of our Newark, CA lab began months ago and does not reflect the current state of the lab,” Theranos said in a statement. “As the survey took place we were simultaneously conducting a comprehensive review of our laboratory’s systems, processes and procedures to ensure that we have best-in-class quality systems.”

Image via AP. Contact the author at andy@gawker.com.

If you happened to think America’s soul-searching regarding the traditions of the Greek system had in any way curbed the drinking and hazing habits of the fine youngsters inhabiting our fraternities and sororities, well: It hasn’t.

Today, Duke University announced it has suspended all sorority activity “pending further notice” after a student was sent to the hospital with alcohol poisoning during this semester’s pledge period.

Meanwhile in December, two fraternities at the University of Kansas were placed on probation for the entirety of 2016 after the school determined they were hazing. You can tell the school is very concerned about this problem because when the local Lawrence Journal-World submitted an open records request to find out what exactly the fraternities had done to warrant such a punishment they received a heavily redacted document that explained exactly nothing.

In Alabama, five frat boys accused of making pledges stand in ice water until they contracted frostbite and were sent to a burn unit will face a non-jury trial later this year. In Pennsylvania, a grand jury declined to fault a Penn State fraternity after a pledge’s family said their son committed suicide due to hazing. This was partly because the during the grand jury proceedings, the prosecutor was unable to get any of the frat’s brothers to state who exactly was responsible for the hazing. Though the family certainly will rest easy knowing the grand jury instead deemed the hazing to be “a fraternity-wide problem.”

If you know any details regarding the incidents at Duke or Kansas, shoot me an email, anonymity guaranteed.

Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com / image of Duke via Getty

A complete 5.1 surround sound system, a popular kitchen thermometer, and Nixon watches kick off today’s best deals. Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.

More Deals

Today’s Best App Deals

http://deals.kinja.com/todays-best-ap...

Today’s Best Men’s Apparel Deals

http://deals.kinja.com/todays-best-fa...

Today’s Best Women’s Apparel Deals

http://deals.kinja.com/todays-best-fa...

Top Deals

iOttie’s original One Touch smartphone dash mount won a Kinja Co-Op way back when, and the One Touch 2 was also immensely popular whenever we posted a deal. This week, iOttie released the brand new One Touch 3, and you can save 30% during a limited time introductory sale.

http://co-op.kinja.com/the-best-smart...

The One Touch 3 features an enhanced telescoping arm to bring the phone closer to you while you drive, and is equally suited to mounting on your dashboard or your windshield. And naturally, the cradle has expanded to accommodate 2016's ever-expanding phones. [iOttie One Touch 3, $17 with code EOT3UPGD]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197549HS

If you need to upgrade your sound system in time for the Super Bowl, one of your favorite sound bars is down to an all-time low price today on Amazon for Prime members only. And while the “bar” itself is great, what really makes this system special is its included wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers. That means you can experience true 5.1 surround sound at an incredibly cheap price, with no A/V receiver required.

http://co-op.kinja.com/five-best-soun...

The secret sauce here is the wireless subwoofer, which sits in the back of the room, and acts as a hub to plug in your rear channel satellite speakers. The upshot here is that you don’t need to run any wires from your TV across the room, and you don’t even need an AV receiver. I own the 2014 model of this system, and I can’t believe how great it sounds, or how easy it was to set up. [VIZIO SB3851-C0 38-Inch 5.1 Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer and Satellite Speakers, $198 for Prime members. Discount shown at checkout.]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

If you don’t have a good cooking thermometer in your kitchen, this one has a 4.5 star average on over 3500 reviews, and you can pick one up for just $8. [Chef Remi Cooking Thermometer, $8 with code 8W6BY59J]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

It wasn’t that long ago that $100 was a good price for a 1TB hard drive. Now, that gets you four times the space. [Samsung D3 Station 4TB Hard Drive, $100]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAMSUNG-D3...

Little Giant Ladders are some of the most popular on the market, and you can get a 17' model for $166, or a 22' version for $185 today on Groupon. That’s still a sizable chunk of change, but these rarely dip below $200, and you’ll even get a hanging cargo hold to store your tools. . [Little Giant Ladders, $166-$185 with code VISA5]

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-littl...

My dog burped in my face yesterday, and I nearly threw up on his, so I’ll probably be buying some of these. And while at-home oral care probably won’t totally replace professional dental work, it can at least mean fewer expensive appointments at the vet. Just note that you won’t see the discount until checkout. [Extra 15% off Greenies Dental Pet Treats, Discount Shown At Checkout]

While the 1366x768 display is nothing to write home about, this workhorse Lenovo Thinkpad packs 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, a fingerprint reader, and an all-important TrackPoint cursor nub. Its most important spec though is its price; it’s a total steal at $450. [Lenovo L450 14" ThinkPad, $450]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1218062643...

Smoothies are great, but if you’re just making one for yourself, it might not be worth the time it takes to haul out and clean a full-sized blender. Luckily, this compact Magic Bullet is perfectly sized for personal smoothie-making, and cleans up in just a few seconds. It normally sells for $40, but you can pick one up on Amazon right now for just $34. [Magic Bullet Blender, $34]

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bullet-B...

We see great deals on Bluetooth headphones almost every day, but even I did a double take when I saw this pair of Aukeys for $11. [Aukey V4.1 Bluetooth Sports Headphones with Noise Canceling Wireless Stereo, $11 with code 5FOD8D3G]

http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-Bluetoot...

Sony’s ultra-fast SD cards are a favorite of photographers everywhere, and their 64GB card has never been cheaper. Stock up! [Sony 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC up to 70MB/s Memory Card, $16]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X140B06/...

If you can’t start your day without a morning cup of coffee, but you’re still using an electric drip coffee maker, or even (gasp) a Keurig, you might want to try out a flavor-extracting french press. This inexpensive X-Chef model looks nearly identical to the excellent Bodum Chambord, but is significantly cheaper at $15.

If you’re not convinced, know that french press took the #1 spot in Lifehacker’s coffee-making Hive Five, and many coffee aficionados swear by it. And with no disposable filters or pods to buy, this machine could pay for itself over time.

http://lifehacker.com/most-popular-c...

Today’s Amazon deal is the cheapest we’ve ever seen this model, but we don’t know how long it will last, so perk up and lock in your order while you can. [X-Chef French Press Coffee Maker, $15]

http://www.amazon.com/French-X-Chef-...

If this model sells out, here’s another option. [Homdox French Press Glass and PP Plastic Coffee Maker, 8 Coffee Cups (1 Liter), 34oz, $15 with code CKG4GN4O]

http://www.amazon.com/Homdox-French-...

More Coffee Gear

http://gear.kinja.com/buying-guide-g...

You never want to let stains set in on your favorite clothes before you wash them, and with this portable ultrasonic cleaner, you’ll never have to.

All you have to do is add water to the reservoir, point the applicator at the stain, and let the battery-powered water pulses remove it by force. For particularly difficult stains, you’ll want to apply a little soap to the fabric before starting, but you can find that in any restaurant bathroom.

Even if you don’t want to keep this with you at all times, reviewers note that it’s great for cleaning carpet stains, so you might want to keep one around the house anyway. [Ohuhu Handheld Washing Machine Ultrasonic Laundry Stick Handy Washer for Removing Wine Coffee Stains, $20 with code 3ZJJPTBQ]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K8KTNQ

My momma always taught me, whenever you see a 20,000mAh battery pack on sale for under $20, you buy it. [Aukey 20000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank with AiPower Tech, $19 with code OKQ4JHJT]

http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-20000mAh...

If you aren’t yet willing to lease your wrist to Apple or Google, Amazon’s taking up to 70% off a nice selection of Nixon watches for men and women, today only. They won’t read you your texts or tell you the weather, but they look way nicer than any wearable computer you can buy right now. [Get Up to 70% Off Nixon Watches at Amazon]

http://deals.kinja.com/todays-best-fa...

Oh hey, look, console deals. Feels like it’s been awhile.

Neither of these are amazing—the PS4 doesn’t include any games, and the Xbox One bonus games are mostly old and/or bad—but if you’ve got a tax refund burning a hole in your wallet, and you want to pick up a console, you could do worse.

Sony PlayStation 4 500GB Console ($320) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGA9WK2/...

Xbox One Gears of War Bundle + Assassin’s Creed Unity + NBA 2K15 + Final Fantasy Type-0 HD + 3 Months Gold ($350) | eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3815274250...

Students who still haven’t purchased their obscenely priced textbooks yet just got a little relief from Amazon. Through the end of the day, every order containing $100 in physical books is eligible for a $10 discount with promo code 2016WINTER. Check out all the fine print here for more information. [$10 off Any $100 Physical Book Offer, Promo code 2016WINTER]

And as always, students can sign up for a free 6 month trial of Amazon Prime here.

If your movie theater of choice is operated by Regal, this discounted gift card essentially amounts to ten free dollars. That’s like a free large popcorn (hopefully)! [$50 Regal Gift Card, $40]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1118853066...

Why wash a pot and a colander when one device can do both jobs? If you cook pasta with any regularity, this will be a great addition to your kitchen. [Bialetti Trends Collection 5 Quart Pasta Pot, $25]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

For a limited time, RadioShack (that’s not a typo) is selling a new Apple TV for $120, or $30 off its MSRP, matching an earlier holiday deal. Be sure to check out Gizmodo’s review if you’re on the fence. [Apple TV Next Generation - 32GB and HDMI Cable Bundle, $120]

https://www.radioshack.com/products/apple...

For just $6 today, you can sip your drinks in style with a four pack stainless steel drinking straws. I own a set of these, and use one every day in my drinking glass, but they’re also great when you’re entertaining and want to class up the drinks you serve your guests. [X-Chef Stainless Steel Bend Replacement Metal Straws with Cleaner Brush, Set of 4, $6]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0146HSJ5A

We’ve seen a handful of sub-$20 Bluetooth speakers, but not many of them can join you in the shower. The Omaker M4 can do just that thanks to its IP54-rated splash resistance, and still deliver up to 12 hours of playtime on a single charge. That’s perfect if you like to sing in the shower, or just need to catch up on your podcast queue. [Omaker M4 Water Resistant Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker, $19 with code QU7KIBIU]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RBIC1IS

A good step stool is something everyone should own, and this highly-rated model folds up to practically nothing. And yet, it can hold up to 300 pounds. Today’s $10 deal is an all-time low. [Greenco Super Strong Foldable Step Stool, $10]

http://www.amazon.com/Greenco-Super-...

Tech

Storage

• Sony 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC up to 70MB/s Memory Card ($16) | Amazon
• Sony 32GB microSDHC Memory Card ($8) | Amazon
• PNY Compact Attach 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive ($5) | eBay
• Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 HDD SATA External Hard Drive Disk Enclosure Case ($10) | Amazon | Use code 72IX2BYB

Power

• Dynex AA Batteries (48-Pack) ($8) | Best Buy
• Dynex AAA Batteries (48-Pack) ($8) | Best Buy
• ZeroLemon 10000mAh Fast Dual USB Solar Charger External Battery ($18) | Amazon | Use code 43876GNC
• Inateck Quick Charge 30W 3-port USB Car Charger ($8) | Amazon | Use code CHVK8OVJ
• ORICO Quick Charge 2.0 18W USB Wall Charger Fast Charger ($7) | Amazon | Use code E2PUIL8U
• Aukey 20000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank with AiPower Tech(white) ($19) | Amazon | Use code OKQ4JHJT
• Archeer Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($12) | Amazon | Use code AW130COD

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Audio

• Aukey V4.1 Bluetooth Sports Headphones with Noise Canceling Wireless Stereo ($11) | Amazon | Use code 5FOD8D3G
• Omaker Water Resistant M4 Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker ($19) | Amazon | Use code QU7KIBIU
• Able Planet Clear Voice Stereo Headphones with Linx Microphone ($9) | Staples
• iClever Sweatproof Bluetooth 4.1 Magneto Wireless Sport Headphones with Mic and Apt-X Technology ($20) | Amazon | Use code KUI6Z8VJ
• Mpow Jaws Wireless Bluetooth Headset ($27) | Amazon | Use code EH3X9QT2
• DBPOWER Dual Speakers with 3D Hifi Sound Stereo ($13) | Amazon | Use code QNZNFLHU

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ZQZ3SQ

Home Theater

• Hisense 50-Inch 1080p 120Hz Class LED Smart HDTV ($360) | Walmart
• VIZIO 38" 5.1-Channel Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer and Rear Satellite ($198) | Amazon | Prime members only
• DBPOWER Portable Multimedia Mini LED Projector ($61) | Amazon | Use code ZLFYNURX

Computers & Accessories

• HooToo Wireless Travel Router, USB Port, High Performance- TripMate Nano ($15) | Amazon | Use code BRQQQI64
• HP 25" IPS LED HD Monitor ($130) | Best Buy
• Acer H6 Series 23" 5ms HDMI LED LCD Monitor, IPS Panel ($120) | Newegg
• Linksys 802.11ac Smart Wi-Fi Dual-Band Router EA6900 ($160) | Best Buy
• TP-LINK TL-WR841HP 300Mbps High Power Wireless N Router, High Power Amplifier, 5dBi Antennas ($32) | Amazon

PC Parts

• SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB Internal Serial ATA SSD ($40) | Best Buy
• Toshiba 5TB SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm, 128MB Cache, 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive ($144) | Amazon

Mobile Devices

• BATTOP Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard for IPad Air /IPad Air 2 ($15) | Amazon | Use code VHVE59MT

Photography

• Sony AZ1 Action Camera Mini POV HD Video Camera ($148) | Amazon
• Refurb Canon PowerShot SX520 HS ($90) | Canon
• DBPOWER Digital Microscope Magnifier ($58) | Amazon | Use code WATYTKX7

Home

• BOGO Burritos at Moe’s Southwest Grill
• Ohuhu Handheld Washing Machine Ultrasonic Laundry Stick Handy Washer for Removing Wine Coffee Stains ($20) | Amazon | Use code 3ZJJPTBQ
• 1 Year Sam’s Club Membership w/ $20 Gift Card ($45) | Samsclub
• Etekcity Living Color LED Table Lamp ($17) | Amazon | Use code TPGTTUNK
• O-Cedar Easy Wring Spin Mop ($30) | Home Depot
• Seneo Wireless Cloud IP Camera ($80) | Amazon | Use code JQH3XWEG

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K8KTNQ

Kitchen

• Homdox French Press Glass and PP Plastic Coffee Maker, 8 Coffee Cups (1 Liter), 34oz ($15) | Amazon | Use code CKG4GN4O
• Silicone Pastry & Basting Brushes, Set Of 4 ($8) | Amazon
• Kitchen Aid Tilt Head 5qt Stand Mixer ($170) | TJ Maxx | Use code SHIP89
• Kitchen Aid Tilt Head 4.5qt Stand Mixer ($170) | TJ Maxx | Use code SHIP89
• Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Coffee Maker, Programmable ($33) | Amazon
• Chef Remi Instant Read Cooking Thermometer ($8) | Amazon | Use code 8W6BY59J
• Magic Bullet Blender ($34) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014F5W6LG

Fitness

• Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set with Door Anchor, Ankle Strap, Exercise Chart, and Carrying Case ($23) | Amazon
• NordicTrack Elite 12.9 Elliptical ($1000) | Sears
• Baleaf Oxford Fabric Waterproof Bicycle Cover for 2 Bikes Lockhole Design ($19) | Amazon

Apparel

• Get Up to 70% Off Nixon Watches at Amazon
• 50% or More Off Rebecca Minkoff Handbags | Amazon
• Up to 70% Off Bali, Playtex, Hanes & More Bras, Panties and Socks | Amazon
• Hanes Men’s TAGLESS Ultimate Pima Cotton Boxer Brief 3-Pack ($6) | eBay
• Columbia Morning Charmer Rain Jacket - Women’s ($40) | REI

Camping & Outdoors

• Headlamp LED Headlight 4 Mode w/ Batteries ($8) | Amazon | Use code SBKTI3YI
• LOFTEK® Smart Rechargeable LED Flashlight/Stick Lantern ($13) | Amazon | Use code BSM9QKYW

Tools & Auto

• Alpine CD w/ Bluetooth Apple iPod and Satellite Radio ($130) | Best Buy
• iClever HB-F01 Wireless FM Transmitter Radio Adapter Car Kit ($10) | Amazon | Use code VPZH76QS
• Pioneer Double DIN/BLUETOOTH/SIRIUS/DVD/MIXTRAX/APPMODE Car Receiver ($210) | Amazon
• Craftsman 46-piece Stubby Tool Set ($15) | Sears
• Craftsman 5-Drawer Homeowner Tool Center with 58-PC Craftsman Tool Set ($100) | Sears
• Windshield Car Sun Shade ($9) | Amazon | Use code EWFD5MTN
• Mpow 360 Degree Rotatable Sticky Magnetic Mini Mount ($14) | Amazon | Use code NQAOOWBN
• DeWalt 20 V Max Li-ion Compact Drill/Driver Kit ($100) | Sears
• Makita XT250 LXT 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 1/2 in. Hammer Driver-Drill and Circular Saw Kit with Two 3.0Ah Batteries ($179) | Amazon
• A Large Selection of Inspection Tools is On Sale at Home Depot
• Evenflo Amp High Back Booster Car Seat ($29) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Windshield-Car...

Media

Movies & TV

• $50 Regal Entertainment Group Gift Card ($40) | eBay
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($10) | Amazon
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ($6) | Amazon
• The King’s Speech ($5) | Amazon
• The Good The Bad and The Ugly ($5) | Amazon
• 007: The Roger Moore Collection Volume 2 ($10) | Amazon

Books & Magazines

• Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic Book 1) [Kindle] ($2) | Amazon
• STATE vs. LASSITER [Kindle] ($1) | Amazon
• Pretty Baby Audiobook ($4) | Audible

Gaming

Peripherals

• Etekcity Scroll H7PX+ Gaming Headset ($32) | Amazon | Use code 9SJER9MM
• Mixcder ShareMe Bluetooth V4.1 Headphones Wireless Gaming Headset with Bluetooth Split Technology ($29) | Amazon | Use code OJN9MWTM

PC

• Games Workshop Sale on Steam | Warhammer Titles and DLC, Talisman, More
• FEZ ($2) | Steam
• Evolve ($10) | GameStop
• Black Mesa ($10) | Steam

PlayStation 4

• Sony PlayStation 4 500GB Console ($320) | Amazon
• Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition Starter Pack ($38) | Amazon
• Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess ($30) | Amazon
• Dragon Age Inquisition ($20) | Amazon
• Evolve ($10) | GameStop
• Preorder Gravity Rush Remastered ($24) | Amazon | Prime members only. Discount shown at checkout.

Xbox One

• Xbox One Gears of War Bundle + Assassin’s Creed Unity + NBA 2K15 + Final Fantasy Type-0 HD + 3 Months Gold ($350) | eBay
• Evolve ($10) | GameStop
• Metro Redux ($10) | GameStop
• Halo 5: Guardians - Limited Edition ($52) | Amazon

PlayStation 3

• Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster ($13) | Walmart

3DS

• Fire Emblem: Awakening ($35) | Amazon

Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more. We want your feedback.

Send deal submissions to Deals@Gawker and all other inquiries to Shane@Gawker

Following a meeting organized by the Arizona school district where six high school girls wore T-shirts spelling out the n-word (more or less), Don Harris, head of the Maricopa County chapter of the NAACP—who also happens to be white, and Jewish—commented on a reporter’s appearance: “Nice tits!”

Tempe Union High School District invited about 50 community leaders and educators to a private meeting on Tuesday to discuss the shirts worn by six Desert Vista High School students. The group agreed to take steps to eradicate use of the n-word, the Phoenix New Times reports.

According to the Arizona Republic, Desert Vista High is 66 percent white and 7 percent black,, and, in 2014, the median household income in the school’s zip code was $95,628. At least one of the students—the ‘R’—has apologized.

The Maricopa County chapter of the NAACP is the state’s largest. Its president, Harris, a former U.S. Marine officer who served in Vietnam, was one of the community leaders in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. He reportedly pledged $5,000 towards the group’s efforts.

A Channel 12 News reporter, Monique Griego, stopped Harris on his way out of the meeting. “How did this meeting fix anything?” her cameraman asked. “It doesn’t fix anything,” Harris replied. “We’re on a pathway now to making things better.” Griego thanked him and moved on to speak to someone else.

Harris then turned to the New Times reporter and said, “Nice tits.” Then, he said it again. (The New Times has audio.)

Asked on Wednesday what he would do to combat sexism as well as racism, Harris lost his mind. “I’m going to slash my wrists,” he said. “Better yet, I’m going to throw myself out of a fucking window, except I’m on the first floor...I’m one of the best goddamned people in the state.”

“I’ve given up my law practice. I’m down here six, seven days a week. That’s what my commitment is. I support NOW, the women’s organization—goddamn!—are you shitting me? Are you going to write this up?”

Incidentally, Harris spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper about Rachel Dolezal last year. “You’ve gotta have credibility,” he said at the time. “Once you lose that credibility, the efficacy of your leadership fails.”

Here is a picture of Harris with anti-immigration hard-liner Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who just endorsed Donald Trump for president:

The Maricopa NAACP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gawker.

Image via CNN. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

If Laquan McDonald’s death at the hands of Chicago policeman Jason Van Dyke hadn’t been recorded on dashcam video, Van Dyke, like countless officers before him, might never have been arrested or charged with murder. A new DNAinfo report on the state of dashcams in Chicago squad cars illuminates just how close that was to happening.

After Chicago police officials said that 80 percent of dashcam videos captured by their force were without audio due to officer error or “intentional destruction,” DNAinfo reporters Mark Konkol and Paul Biasco obtained police maintenance logs covering the city’s squad cars. What they found confirmed a systemic neglect and disabling of dashcams in police vehicles, five of which were present at the scene of McDonald’s death.

Of the dashcam in the squad car belonging to Van Dyke and his partner Joseph Walsh, Mark Konkol and Paul Biasco write:

On June 17, 2014, police technicians reported fixing a dashcam wiring issue in police vehicle No. 6412, the squad shared by Van Dyke and Walsh, about three months after it was reported broken, records show.

A day later, the same vehicle’s dashcam system was reported busted again. It took until Oct. 8, 2014, to complete repairs of what technicians deemed “intentional damage,” according to reports.

Just 12 days later, on Oct. 20, 2014, dashcam video recorded from squad car No. 6412 on the night Van Dyke shot and killed McDonald did not record audio. The video that went viral showing Van Dyke killing Laquan was taken from a different squad car, but it, too, had no audio.

According to DNAinfo, those were the only two cars to record video at all. Two other dashcams recorded nothing, while a fifth captured only audio. One car failed to record video “due to disk error,” while another suffered a “power issue” that resulted in the dashcam being “not engaged.”

Maintenance records related to those vehicles—No. 8489, belonging to officers Thomas Gaffney and Joseph McElligott; and No. 8756, assigned to Arturo Bacerra and Leticia Valez—appear to show discrepancies in reporting:

Regarding car 8489:

Police maintenance records show a request to repair the dashcam in that squad car was made Oct. 15, 2014 — five days before Laquan’s shooting. Yet, on Oct. 31, 2014, technicians found “no problems” with the equipment.

Regarding car 8756:

Police vehicle No. 8756 had a working dashcam that recorded 124 “event videos” in October 2014 without a single request for maintenance that month.

But on the night of Laquan’s shooting, the vehicle assigned to Arturo Bacerra and Leticia Valez reportedly had a “power issue” and the dashcam was “not engaged.”

It wasn’t until Nov. 23 that a repair request was issued for that squad car’s dashcam. Less than two weeks later, technicians reported, “no problems found,” police records show.

The logs for relating to all Chicago PD vehicles, which show that officers yanked out batteries or hid microphones in glove boxes, can be read here:

Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com / image via Getty

Through his attorney, Ammon Bundy has asked those militants who remain at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge to “stand down” and go home.

“If the people at the refuge want to leave, they can do so through the checkpoints where they will be identified,” Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Oregon said in a statement earlier on Wednesday. “If they have questions or concerns, they can call the negotiators at the number that has been provided to them.”

Incidentally, Ammon Bundy is the only one of the six militants who were arrested last night who has his own attorney, OPB reports. The rest accepted court-appointed public defenders because they could not afford private counsel.

David Fry is still live-streaming the occupation. It’s unclear whether they will comply with Bundy’s instructions.

http://gawker.com/remaining-mili...

Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

In the federal criminal complaint filed against Ammon Bundy and his crew, charging them with conspiracy to impede a federal officer by force, intimidation, or threats, anti-Muslim vlogger Jon Ritzheimer is accused of harassing an unnamed woman for wearing a Bureau of Land Management t-shirt.

http://documents.gawker.com/heres-the-fede...

In December, the complaint alleges, Ritzheimer and another man confronted the woman at the Safeway grocery store in Burns, Oregon. The woman was wearing a Bureau of Land Management shirt. The man with Ritzheimer said that they knew what car she drove, and would follow her home, she told police. He also said they would burn her house down.

Since then, the woman has seen a truck similar to the one that Ritzheimer and his companion were driving that day—a black-pick up truck with a black canopy and no visible license plate—outside her house. She said she’s also been aggressively tailgated by a white truck with a pink license plate and a Confederate flag sticker on the back window.

Ritzheimer surrendered himself into police custody in Arizona last night.

Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

The New York Jets are paying out approximately $324,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by the team’s cheerleading squad over low wages.

According to the New York Post, the lawsuit was originally filed in 2014 by one Krystal C., who claimed the women made only $150 per game and were not compensated for practice time. The Associated Press reports that the women were also forced to pay for their own hair, makeup, and transportation.

According to Krystal’s attorney, via CNN:

“When you look at the actual hours worked versus what Krystal was paid, she only made $3.77 per hour,” Pierce said. “When you factor in the required hair, makeup and transportation expenses, the hourly rate goes below $1.50 an hour.”

In the terms of the agreement, the AP reports, all 52 cheerleaders will receive between $2,559 and $5,913 each, depending on what seasons they worked and whether they participated in photo shoots. According to the AP, the Jets denied the cheerleaders’ claims but agreed to settle to avoid litigation.

Over the past few years, NFL cheerleaders have begun to push back against their truly absurd working conditions—the Oakland Raiders settled for $1.25 million in 2014, the Bengals for $255,000 in 2015, and recently the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders were granted class action status. This particular settlement is not an enormous amount of money, considering the fact that the owner of the Jets is a billionaire and the football players themselves make this much, but...it’s something.

Contact the author at ellie@jezebel.com.

Image via Getty.

Instead of participating in Thursday’s GOP debate, hosted by Fox News, Donald Trump has said he wants to hold a fundraiser for wounded veterans. He should tread carefully, though: According to new reports, the Wounded Warrior Project spends almost as much on itself as it does on veterans.

In the past two days, both CBS News and the New York Times have published investigative stories on the Wounded Warrior Project, pointing to similar conclusions.

In 2014, CBS reports, the Wounded Warrior Project took in more than $300 million in donations. But while other, similar charities spend more than 90 percent of their budgets on veterans (i.e. Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust: 96 percent; Fisher House: 91 percent) WPP spends only 60 percent on vets.

In 2009, the charity hired a new CEO, Steven Nardizzi, who (apparently) loves to party. According to tax forms, the charity’s spending on conferences and meetings ballooned from $1.7 million in 2010 to $26 million in 2014—which, incidentally, is about the same amount of money that it spends on its biggest program, combat stress recovery.

In 2014, Nardizzi organized a four-day, $3 million conference at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs. “He rappelled down the side of a building at one of the all hands events. He’s come in on a Segway, he’s come in on a horse,” one former employee told CBS.

The Times describes the same incident, at the beginning of its story, in further detail:

In 2014, after 10 years of rapid growth, the Wounded Warrior Project flew its roughly 500 employees to Colorado Springs for an “all hands” meeting at the five-star Broadmoor hotel.

They were celebrating their biggest year yet: $225 million raised and a work force that had nearly doubled. On the opening night, before three days of strategy sessions and team-building field trips, the staff gathered in the hotel courtyard. Suddenly, a spotlight focused on a 10-story bell tower where the chief executive, Steven Nardizzi, stepped off the edge and rappelled toward the cheering crowd.

“Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn’t see is how they spend their money,” Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette, an Iraq veteran with a bronze star, a purple heart, and PTSD, who worked for WPP for two years, told CBS. “You’re using our injuries, our darkest days, our hardships, to make money. So you can have these big parties.”

Nardizzi wouldn’t speak to CBS, but he did speak to the Times. “I look at companies like Starbucks—that’s the model,” he said. “You’re looking at companies that are getting it right, treating their employees right, delivering great services and great products, then are growing the brand to support all of that.”

Some nonprofit-watchdog groups have taken notice of WWP’s spending. From the Times:

Charity Watch, an independent monitoring group, gave Wounded Warrior Project a “D” rating in 2011 and has not given it a grade higher than C since.

Mr. Nardizzi fought back. In 2013, according to tax forms, the Wounded Warrior Project gave $150,000 to a nonprofit called the Charity Defense Council and Mr. Nardizzi joined its advisory board. The council’s mission includes defending charity spending on overhead and executive salaries, its website says.

In 2014, the Wounded Warrior Project lobbied in California and Florida to fight proposals that would have required nonprofits to increase financial transparency. Both bills passed in amended forms that did not significantly affect the charity, Mr. Nardizzi said.

Last year, the organization raised more than $372 million, in large part through small donations from people older than 65. The year before, Nardizzi was paid $473,000.

Photo of Steven Nardizzi via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

Officers with a drug enforcement task force found 100 pounds of heroin, worth about $14 million on the street, hidden in the axle casings and drive shaft of a pickup truck in Queens this week.

The FBI is negotiating with the those still holed up inside Malheur Wildlife Refuge, OPB reports, after Ammon Bundy, through his lawyer, encouraged the remaining militants to go home. Bundy’s wife Lisa, however, in a now-deleted post on the “Bundy Ranch” Facebook page, apparently questioned the authenticity of her husband’s statement.

The post, preserved by OPB’s Jon Sepulvado in a screenshot, read:

ALERT! From Ammon’s wife, Lisa: Ammon would not have called for the patriots to leave. We have lost a life but we are not backing down. He didn’t spill his blood in vain! Hold your ground... Ranchers come and stand! Committee of Safety come and stand! Militia come and stand!

“To those remaining at the refuge, I love you. Let us take this fight from here. Please stand down. Go home and hug your families. This fight is ours for now in the courts. Please go home,” Ammon had said earlier, through his attorney.

Militant David Fry told OPB that those remaining have no plans to leave. “We have new leaders now and new plans.” Meanwhile, Ammon’s father, Cliven Bundy, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in a video interview, that Tuesday’s events, which left one militant dead, should be a wake-up call to America.

“This whole battle is over a Constitutional issue” Bundy said. “This is a total disaster to be happening in America...We have federal people killing innocent people.” He continued, “My sons and those people were there to do good. No harm was intended. They would never threaten anybody.”

This last is allegedly untrue: The federal complaint filed against Bundy et al. accused Jon Ritzenheimer and another militant of harassing a local woman and threatening to burn her house down.

http://gawker.com/feds-jon-ritzh...

Image of Cliven Bundy via LVRJ. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

In a statement, the FBI announced the arrest of three more men who had been occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They, like Ammon Bundy and the others, have been charged with felony conspiracy to impede federal officers.

http://documents.gawker.com/heres-the-fede...

Early Wednesday morning, the FBI and the Oregon State Police set up check points along the major roads leading to and from the refuge. From the statement:

In the hours prior to the checkpoints, several vehicles are known to have left the area. Since the establishment of checkpoints, a total of eight people have left the refuge. Of those, the FBI released five and arrested three.

At approximately 3:30 pm, the FBI made probable cause arrests of Duane Leo Ehmer, age 45, of Irrigon, Oregon, and Dylan Wade Anderson, age 34, of Provo, Utah. At approximately, 7:40 pm, agents made a probable cause arrest of Jason S. Patrick, age 43, of Bonaire, Georgia.

All three men surrendered themselves willingly. Those who were released are not identified. “The FBI and our partners continue to work around the clock to empty the refuge of the armed occupiers in the safest way possible,” the statement concludes.

The FAA declared a no-fly zone over Burns on Wednesday afternoon, apparently at the FBI’s request. The reason given, per the FAA’s notice to pilots, is “TO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.” Also: “ONLY RELIEF AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS UNDER DIRECTION OF FBI ARE AUTHORIZED IN THE AIRSPACE.”

A gentleman who answered the phone when Gawker called the number listed as the “Point of Contact” said, “I’m not taking calls on that right now. Thank you though.”

The FBI has been staging out of the Burns Municipal Airport. Asked whether he knew anything about the flight restrictions, the airport’s manager, Jeff Cotton, laughed and told Gawker, “You’re asking the wrong guy.” That’s probably true.

Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

On Tuesday, FBI agents and Oregon State Police arrested Ammon Bundy and seven others, charging them with felony conspiracy to impede federal officers from discharging their official duties through the use of force. What follows is the sworn affidavit of Special Agent Katharine Armstrong.

Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.

The lead contamination crisis in Flint has resulted in a tidal wave of bottled water being shipped to the state to provide emergency drinking water for residents. Flint’s most famous resident, Michael Moore, recently pleaded with the world: Please, do not send any more bottled water.

After a town hall with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the filmmaker took to Twitter to explain what he meant. While he appreciates the generosity put forth by so many corporations and celebrities who continue to send pallets upon pallets of plastic bottles to the city, it’s not the right fix. It’s a short-minded, short-term solution that doesn’t even begin to approach the real problem—that a generation of children have likely suffered irreversible brain damage—and it will end up creating another environmental disaster on its own. Here’s Moore’s math:

Flint has 102,000 residents, each in need of an average of 50 gallons of water a day for cooking, bathing, washing clothes, doing the dishes, and drinking (I’m not counting toilet flushes, watering plants or washing the car). But 100,000 bottles of water is enough for just one bottle per person – in other words, just enough to cover brushing one’s teeth for one day. You would have to send 200 bottles a day, per person, to cover what the average American (we are Americans in Flint) needs each day. That’s 102,000 citizens times 200 bottles of water – which equals 20.4 million 16oz. bottles of water per day, every day, for the next year or two until this problem is fixed (oh, and we’ll need to find a landfill in Flint big enough for all those hundreds of millions of plastic water bottles, thus degrading the local environment even further). Anybody want to pony up for that? Because THAT is the reality.

Amen! If you want to help, he says, be a part of the “revolt” that will help overhaul a broken water system, and hold the people who did this accountable.

Moore outlines a detailed plan that includes a call to arrest Governor Rick Snyder and put the federal government in charge, echoing support for the NRDC lawsuit filed today which requested that a federal court force Flint to replace all lead service lines immediately. As far as drinking water for residents, Moore has a pretty solid idea there, too:

For those who choose to stay in Flint, FEMA must create a temporary water system in each home. One idea that has been suggested is to deliver two 55-gallon drums to every home in Flint. Each day water trucks will arrive to fill them with fresh clean glacial water from Lake Huron. The drums will have taps attached to them. People can’t be expected to carry jugs of water from buildings that are miles away.

It’s a smart solution that we’ve seen work after other natural disasters. It eliminates waste, puts no additional strain on local landfills, and whenever—hopefully soon—Flint’s water system is safe again, homeowners can use these as rain barrels.

You can sign a pledge to support Moore’s plan and promise that you won’t get on Amazon Prime tonight and ship a few crates of Aquafina to Flint. That’s an easy solution that lets the state government off the hook, when we should be demanding a more comprehensive plan that looks to the future. Moore could not be more right—this is one problem we cannot throw plastic at.

http://gizmodo.com/stop-drinking-...

[Don’t Send Bottled Water]

Follow the author at @awalkerinLA

In avoidance of a long and expensive court fight with the U.S. Department of Justice, the city of Ferguson has agreed to a package of federally recommended reforms to the ways in which its police department operates. The agreement comes after the release of a DOJ report last year that laid out the racial unfairness and misconduct of the city’s cops in harsh detail.

http://gawker.com/justice-depart...

Some of the changes laid out in the agreement, known as a “consent decree,” are surprising in their ambition: officers will be required to inform people of their right not to be searched without a warrant before they ask if a person consents to a search, for instance, and they’ll have to video record the whole exchange to prove that it happened. Others are sort of laughable, such as the department’s agreement to stop making warrantless arrests without probable cause—arrests it never should have been making in the first place.

The reforms also include the repeal of the city’s jaywalking ordinances, which were used almost exclusively to arrest black people, and require new training on “bias-free policing.” The full 131-page decree is available here via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The agreement requires approval of the Ferguson City Council before it will take effect. The council will hold three public hearings on the measures before it takes a vote next month, the New York Times reports.

Image via AP. Contact the author at andy@gawker.com.