Authenticity in politics these days has come to be seen as having less to do with a person’s sincerity or straightforwardness or basic integrity than with such factors as region, class, vocation and preferences in everything from food to garb to pastimes. Few politicians who have spent years and years laboring in government, especially in Washington, admit to the fact, except by way of suggesting that: they were only there to try to set the evil place straight and hated every minute of it and now wish for nothing more than that the jobs they held along with the departments in which they served would be abolished or that the legislation they voted for would be junked and the money they appropriated cut off....

Organizers argue that many are facing deportation from convictions stemming from long ago legal matters—sometimes decades old—that have since been resolved. Their sentences served, they are now productive members of their communities and have been for some time. “When coming here as refugees, many went to cities that were hard to grow up in, and were exposed to gang violence,” said Lowell’s Sovanna Pouv, the executive director of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association to The Boston Herald....

Authorities say that the farms, allegedly disguised as legal hemp farms, are being run by foreign cartels that force their workers to live without the bare essentials and threaten their lives if they don’t comply. This revelation comes against the backdrop of violent crime surges and increases in water theft in Jackson and Douglas counties. Commissioners in Josephine County said the farms are preparing an emergency declaration, citing “rampant violations of county codes, state water laws and criminal laws....

Every year, millions of people around the globe make the essentially economic choice of whether to come to the United States—legally or illegally. But in the past 18 months the calculus behind that decision has changed. Many immigrants are leaving the United States—willingly and unwillingly—and countless others are deciding not to come. The reasons: tougher enforcement and border control, a slowing U.S. economy and impressive growth in developing countries, where many immigrants hail from....

Essentially, it tells you that the healthcare provider has met the requirements of a recognized medical board for certification. This is a step beyond obtaining a medical license and it’s important that you understand its significance. Are All Healthcare Providers Board-Certified? A medical “board” is an organization that healthcare providers can join by meeting the requirements for membership. Whether that doctor is a specialist or a primary care physician, they may decide that demonstrating that level of competency will enhance her esteem and career standing among colleagues and patients....

If you have a feeding tube or take care of someone with a feeding tube, there are several things you should know that will help keep things running smoothly. Tips for Taking Care of Your Feeding Tube Keep the insertion site clean and dry. Clean the area around the tube with plain soap and water at least once a day, more often if there is any drainage or formula oozing onto the skin....

“His imagination has no brakes on it,” says James Truman, the editorial director of Conde Nast magazines. No seat belts, either. When MTV hired LaChapelle earlier this year to create a promo video, he cast a geriatric Madonna impersonator and a blimped-out Courtney Love clone in a spoof of"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Executives were doing spit-takes when they first saw it. In 1994 he sent up Alfred Eisenstaedt’s classic “V-J Day” photograph with two hunky sailors caught in a lip-lock....

Did Noah’s Flood really happen this way and in this place? Some people think it did. In August, underwater explorer Robert Ballard intends to put this theory to the test. To do it, the 60-year-old Connecticut-based geologist–better known for his elaborately publicized ship-hunting escapades, including the discovery of the Titanic in 1985–is going to have to push the state of deep-sea technology. He’s designed a remotely piloted submersible, Hercules, which he claims can excavate for signs of human civilization at depths of 300 meters with a precision approaching what archeologists can muster with human hands....

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday launched a statewide awareness program to alert his state’s residents of the dangers of smoking flavored e-cigarettes, otherwise known as vaping. Newsom said changing the flavor of vape is akin to targeting young people to inhale toxins into their systems before they fully understand the danger of any kind of smoking. “Let’s just dispense with any niceties. You don’t have bubble gum flavor, mango-flavored tobacco products, unless you’re trying to target an audience that you are losing....

Fair enough, but there has been a feeling around here that even the most basic information is classified. After today, Franks will be turning most of the briefings over to the telegenic Gen. Vince Brooks–the second-in-command for operations here. Franks is too busy running the war and, besides, he’s never been fond of the press or military personnel who are drawn to the Klieg lights. Franks of course from the Vietnam era, when relations between the military and the press hit their lowest moment....

Washington gives a heavyweight performance in Norman Jewison’s powerful movie “The Hurricane.” Jewison, who also directed Washington in his breakthrough role in “A Soldier’s Story,” claims that by the end of filming he couldn’t tell the actor from Carter himself: “He had his walk, the way he spoke, the way he carried his body. This role is probably his best work.” Jewison is biased, but he may be right. Washington has been extraordinary before–as Stephen Biko in “Cry Freedom,” as Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s epic and as the ’40s sleuth in “Devil in a Blue Dress....

Of course, the IMU operates in a part of the world that gets by just fine without bank accounts. Few of its members have ever seen an ATM. In fact, the group gains most of its income from its involvement in the huge regional trade in Afghan heroin. And that’s only one of the ways in which the decidedly low-tech IMU illustrates how difficult it will be for the United States and its allies to try to “drain the swamp” of terrorism in Central Asia....

Do not adjust your set. The original Jordache jeans TV commercial from 1979 is back. The company has dusted off the ad–and its famous jingle, “You’ve got the look/I want to know better”–to mark the return of its original line of women’s jeans to stores. In fashion circles, the new Jordaches couldn’t be better timed. The Book of Paul might affirm that “the fashion of this world passeth away,” but fashion also returneth....

Generally speaking, most Disney animated films avoid giving you a precise date and are instead situated in a vague bygone era. Not only do they get to retain a timeless feel that way, but they also don’t have to worry about clashing with any thorny real-world events that might undermine the otherwise happy atmosphere. For instance, Beauty and the Beast takes place at some nebulous point in the 1700s but, if the filmmakers specified an exact year, then history buffs might wonder what’s going to become of the aristocratic Prince Adam and Princess Belle once the French revolution kicks off....

IST is defined as a resting heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute on average that can rise to very high levels with even minimal exertion. These inappropriately elevated heart rates are accompanied by symptoms of palpitations, fatigue, lightheadedness, or exercise intolerance. Because the heart rhythm in IST is generated by the sinus node (the cardiac structure that controls the normal heart rhythm), IST is not associated with an abnormal electrical pattern on the ECG....

Thanks for writing, Barbara. Popular votes do count–they determine the allocation of delegates. But they’re not always representative, especially in districts that award an even number of delegates. Here’s why. In a four-delegate district, a candidate can win 54 to 46 in the popular vote and still only get half of the four delegates; 54 percent isn’t enough to reach the three-delegate threshold. Same goes for districts with six delegates....

Incognito, who was suspended indefinitely on Nov. 3 for using a racial slur and threatening violence toward teammate Jonathan Martin, has reached an agreement with the Dolphins to extend his suspension but with pay while the NFL continues its investigation of the incident, NFL.com reported, citing league sources and a source close to Incognito. Under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, the Dolphins could not suspend Incognito more than four games, with the initial suspension set to expire after Sunday’s game against the New York Jets....

Exon’s bill - actually an amendment tacked to the telecommunications bill-has already undergone considerable changes. The initial version spread the liability for “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent” speech between the originator and the online service that moved the message. Critics noted that it was impossible for the service providers to read the gigabits of data that pass through their portals; in effect, the bill would criminalize the entire Internet....