Here At Home: The FBI arrested almost all of the top officials from a Texas town.
The next few city council meetings in Crystal City, TX are going to be pretty quiet. On Thursday, FBI agents arrested a majority of the town's top officials, including the mayor, mayor pro tempore, city manager, and a current city council member, as well as a former council member. A federal indictment (PDF) accused the town officials of taking thousands of dollars in bribes. (Read More)Major News: There were more prisoners exonerated in the U.S. in 2015 than in any previous year.
The news is largely thanks to an increased number of Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) across the country that are double-checking convictions to make sure people weren't wrongfully convicted. Currently, there are 24 CIUs at various district attorney's offices across the country. That's more than four times as many as there were in 2011. (Read More)AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
In-The-Know: People around the world are celebrating Mardi Gras today.
Grab your dancing shoes, don a mask, and get ready to dance, because it's Mardi Gras. And while you have probably seen the dazzling images of revelers partying all night long and samba schools battling it out to take home the title at Carnival in Brazil, you may be surprised to know that people in Croatia, Belgium, Russia, and beyond celebrate Carnival, too. (Read More)Pro Tip: You can now juggle up to five accounts on Instagram without needing to log out and log back in again.
You can now add up to five Instagram accounts and swiftly switch between them without needing to log out and log back in again. This is incredibly useful if you have a personal and a professional Instagram account, or if you manage multiple accounts as part of your job. The update is rolling out to iOS and Android users this week. (Read More)Talking Points: A professor says Bernie Sanders' policies would lead to more jobs.
According to Gerald Friedman, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Bernie Sanders' economic program would cause median household incomes to rise by more than $22,000, CNN reports. By Friedman's estimates, Sanders' plan would create almost 26 million U.S. jobs, and the country's unemployment rate would be lowered to 3.8%. (Read More)This Is Not A Drill: Starbucks has three new Valentine's Day drinks.
Meet the Molten Chocolate Latte, the Molten Chocolate Frappuccino, and the Molten Hot Chocolate. They feature chocolate chips melted into steamed milk (or blended with the Frapp) and bittersweet mocha sauce. The three beverages are extra chocolatey, a classic go-to for the holiday, but they're made with a bittersweet chocolate, so they work for V-Day haters, too. (Read More)AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT