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WASHINGTON — Hundreds of historic U.S. post offices nationwide face uncertain futures as the U.S. Postal Service downsizes, so preservationists on Wednesday added these American institutions to the list of the country's most endangered historic places.

Post offices will join the list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places as ...

KnoxNews.com: Lawsuit filed over OR man's warrantless cavity search by Bob Fowler:

An Oak Ridge man who says he was forced in June 2011 to submit to a digital rectal exam for suspected drugs — and no drugs were found — has filed a lawsuit in Anderson County Circuit Court.

Wesley Antwan Gulley's legal action contends his constitutional rights were violated and he was subjected to false arrest and imprisonment, assault and battery and medical battery.

The lawsuit alleges Gulley was in shackles and reluctantly consented to the exam, but only after Dr. Michael A. LaPaglia ordered an injectable sedative and threatened to use it "in performing the digital rectal exam …"

The defendants used coercion and "undue influence" to force Gulley's consent, and police officers didn't have a warrant, it continues.

No drugs were found, and he was released after having been shackled for the ride to the hospital. It started because of a dog alert on a $20 bill in the car, which everyone in law enforcement should know by now (since it's been public knowledge for over 25 years) that virtually all currency that goes through money counting machines has microscopic traces of cocaine.

I normally don't include lawsuits because so many fail on qualified immunity or the merits of the Fourth Amendment claim. Based on the news article, this one states enough to get to trial. Forced warrantless digital exams are unreasonable even with probable cause, except for a convict in prison or a jail inmate, thanks to Florence.

h/t to a reader

Relying on Edmond, United States v. Yousif, 308 F.3d 820 (8th Cir. 2002), and United States v. Prokupek, 632 F.3d 460 (8th Cir. 2011), the Tenth Circuit holds that stopping cars that pulled off at an exit by ruse checkpoint was not based on reasonable suspicion. Pulling off was a factor in RS, but more is required. United States v. Neff, 10-3336 (10th Cir. June 5, 2012):

We agree with the Eighth Circuit that a driver's decision to use a rural highway exit after seeing drug checkpoint signs may serve as a valid, and indeed persuasive, factor in an officer's reasonable suspicion analysis. See, e.g., Carpenter, 462 F.3d at 987; United States v. Klinginsmith, 25 F.3d 1507, 1510 n.1 (10th Cir. 1994) (listing as one valid factor that "the defendants took an exit which was the first exit after a narcotics check lane sign, and an exit that was seldom used"). But standing alone, it is insufficient to justify even a brief investigatory detention of a vehicle. Here, of course, the government points to a number of other factors that the trooper relied on in forming reasonable suspicion, including: (1) Neff's car had a Shawnee County license plate but was driving in Wabaunsee County; (2) the exit was in a rural area without highway services such as restaurants or gas stations; (3) Neff pulled into a private driveway where he did not seem to have any reason to be; (4) Neff had a startled look on his face when he saw the trooper.

. . .

These facts, when taken together, do not fairly suggest that Neff was attempting to evade police. To be sure, an officer is “entitled to make an assessment of the situation in light of his specialized training and familiarity with the customs of the area’s inhabitants.” Arvizu, 534 U.S. at 276. But even considering the totality of the circumstances, Neff’s conduct conformed to the patterns of everyday travel. ...

TORONTO — Body parts mailed to two Vancouver schools were mailed from Montreal and are thought to be linked to the killing and dismemberment of a Chinese student, police said Wednesday, as the Canadian porn actor suspected in the case awaited extradition after his arrest in Germany.

Montreal Police Cmdr. ...

WASHINGTON — Eight Muslims filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in New Jersey to force the New York Police Department to end its surveillance and other intelligence-gathering practices targeting Muslims in the years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The lawsuit alleged that the police activities were unconstitutional because they focused on ...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A guard held hostage at a South Carolina high security prison was rescued early Wednesday after a standoff of more than six hours in the prison's most secure unit, a corrections department spokesman said.

The officer was rescued and prison officials regained control of the building around ...

House Republicans will have to wait for their chance to question former top Environmental Protection Agency official Al Armendariz, who became notorious for his pledge to "crucify" oil and gas companies in order to set a regulatory example.

Mr. Armendariz, who resigned in late April as head of the agency's ...

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A jury was selected Wednesday in the child molestation scandal that brought down Joe Paterno, and the makeup of the panel left no doubt that this is Penn State country.

The seven women and five men who will hear opening statements on Monday in the case ...