Huffington Magazine Issue 62 | Page 7

Enter POINTERS HUFFINGTON 08.18.13 FROM TOP: JOE MARINO/NY DAILY NEWS VIA GETTY IMAGES; AP PHOTO/ U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE, FILE; ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES ‘RACIALLY 2 DISCRIMINATORY’ A federal judge ruled this week that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy has violated thousands of minorities’ constitutional rights. “The city’s highest officials have turned a blind eye to the evidence that officers are conducting stops in a racially discriminatory manner,” U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin wrote. She did not put an end to the program, but called for a monitor to oversee changes, such as making some officers wear body cameras. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has touted stop-and-frisk as a policy that has drastically lowered the crime rate in New York. He said he intends to appeal the ruling. WHITEY GOES AWAY Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was convicted 3 4 Monday of 11 murders in the 1970s and ’80s and was found guilty on money laundering, conspiracy and illegal firearms charges. The 83-year-old disappeared in the mid-1990s and spent 16 years on the run until authorities found him in 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif. He reportedly gave a thumbs up to his brother Jack while leaving the courtroom. Bulger faces life behind bars. 5-YEAR LOW The government reported a $97.6 billion deficit for the month of July, setting it up to hit its lowest annual deficit in five years. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the deficit will total $670 billion for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Last year’s annual deficit was $1.09 trillion. If the government remains on track, it would be the first year since 2008 that the difference between spending and revenue is less than $1 trillion, the AP reports.