All articles from Patrik Jonsson
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The South welcomes 'crazy ants.' Hail the latest invader
'Crazy ants' from South America are hitching rides across the South, setting up massive colonies, and relieving other occupying ant armies, including fire ants, of their duties.
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Feds rooting out 'unwelcome speech' on campus: But what is that?
The failure of the University of Montana to respond adequately to sexual assault allegations has led to a broadening of how the federal government defines verbal harassment. Free speech advocates worry that the new policy will chill the right to speak freely on campus.
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New Orleans parade shooting: Arrests show city's reworked approach to policing
The arrests of two brothers after a Mother’s Day parade shooting appear to be an example of the dramatic shift in gang-war policing that New Orleans has made under Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
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IRS scandal: Reinvigorated tea party eager to seize moment (+video)
With the Justice Department investigating whether IRS employees criminally misused their power by targeting conservative groups, tea party leaders see the scandal as a teaching tool about what tyranny looks like.
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Mother’s Day shooting in New Orleans tests violent ‘street code’
The suspect in the New Orleans Mother's Day shooting appears to fit the profile of those being targeted by the police anti-gang task force in the city's latest crackdown on violence.
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Bryce Reed, enigma of the Texas blast tragedy (+video)
First responder Bryce Reed became a major media figure in the aftermath of the explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. Now he’s been arrested for having bomb-making supplies.
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IRS apologizes for targeting tea party. Should heads roll? (+video)
IRS apologizes that its bureaucrats trolled for groups with names that included 'patriot' and 'tea party' before last year’s election in order to take a closer look at their tax status. Tea party groups want workers fired.
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Unexpected twists in case of deadly blast at Texas fertilizer plant
A first responder to the huge explosion last month at a Texas fertilizer plant was arrested Friday for possessing a pipe bomb – but officials aren't linking his arrest to the deadly incident. The probe, however, is now a criminal matter, they said.
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Jodi Arias case: What's trend line on women getting the death penalty?
Among male murderers in the US, a smaller share has been drawing the death penalty in recent years. That's not so, though, for women killers. How societal views may factor into sentencing in instances such as the Jodi Arias case.
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With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat? (+video)
A Pew study released Tuesday finds that Americans think gun violence has escalated when in reality it's way down from two decades ago. The violence has dropped, meanwhile, even as gun ownership has increased.
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House race: Mark Sanford win crushes Democrats' hope of red-state toehold
Democrats spent $1 million to elect Elizabeth Colbert Busch in true-red South Carolina. But Republican Mark Sanford won handily with a message of fiscal restraint, despite ethical and moral lapses while governor.
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In Mark Sanford race, a test of how much infidelity matters in South
Voting is under way Tuesday in Charleston, S.C., where Mark Sanford (R) hopes to prevail over Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) for a US House seat. The Republican is usually a shoo-in, but the former governor's 'Appalachian Trail' tale of infidelity raised doubts.
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Fertilizer plant blast: how lax security hints at regulatory gaps in Texas
The Texas fertilizer plant, targeted for years by thieves who wanted anhydrous ammonia to produce drugs, reportedly had no fence, alarms, or guards. Yet state regulators raised few security concerns before the deadly blast.
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California wildfire: 1,900 on the lines as firefighters labor to limit damage (+video)
Saturday's more favorable weather and the heroic work of 1,900 firefighters have limited damage from a fast-breaking California wildfire in Ventura County. State outlook is for an active fire season; elsewhere in the US conditions are less ominous.
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As NRA meets, Great Gun Debate intensifies America's culture war (+video)
Both sides in the debate over gun policy are indulging in stereotypes and name-calling, fueled by a distrust bred from previous culture war fights. As the NRA convention continues this weekend, are red and blue America really so far apart?
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Fertilizer plant blast: Does post-9/11 secrecy make your life riskier?
Following the fertilizer plant blast, Texas cited terror concerns in withholding information on dangerous chemicals. Some say that secrecy deprives citizens of the ability to make decisions about their safety.
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Appalachian Trail not forgotten: Women voters still wary of Mark Sanford
Monday's debate in the South Carolina congressional race between former Gov. Mark Sanford and Elizabeth Colbert Busch underscored Sanford's problems with women voters.
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Gun conundrum: Why is ammunition still in short supply?
Demand for bullets has surged, resulting in a shortage and skyrocketing prices. Some see a nefarious federal intent to take ammunition off the market. Others cite panic buying among gun owners. Where does the truth lie?
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To Obama's dismay, America not outraged by gun control fail, poll suggests
A new poll finds that less than half of America is upset by the Senate's failure to pass expanded background checks. That was supposed to be the gun control issue with the broadest support.
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Will flight delays stir up ire against sequester?
Rolling flight delays blamed on automatic government spending cuts imposed in March snarled some of the nation's busiest airports, testing how Americans will gauge Washington's sequester solution to spending and debt issues.
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