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Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a sweeping federal civil rights investigation of the police department of Ferguson, Missouri, citing a deep mistrust between officers and the people who live there.

Holder said the investigation would determine whether officers in Ferguson had engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.

He said that the investigation would analyze police use of force, traffic stops, searches and the treatment of detainees. It will go beyond the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white officer, Darren Wilson, on Aug. 9.

Four of the departments 54 officers are black, while the city population is about two-thirds black. State statistics have also shown that blacks in St. Louis County, including Ferguson, are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be arrested during traffic stops than whites.

Holder said that his conversations with the people of Ferguson, when he visited in the aftermath of the Brown shooting, had shown the pattern of mistrust.

He said that Justice Department officials had also reviewed records, including racial statistics for police stops, before deciding the open the investigation. The Justice Department is investigating the Brown shooting separately, as is a grand jury in the St. Louis area.

The Ferguson mayor and police chief both told NBC News on Thursday that they welcomed the federal investigation.

In Ferguson, within feet of where Brown was killed, one man, Jerdonn Hill, told NBC News on Thursday that he welcomed the federal investigation because he does not trust local investigators to be unbiased.

Im not gonna say the whole force is bad, he said. He said that he had had a couple of run-ins with a lot of Ferguson officers, but not all of them bad, you know? Not all of them bad.

The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said it had opened more than 20 similar investigations into police departments across the country over the past five years. It said it is enforcing 14 agreements to reform law enforcement practices at agencies large and small.

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Coming Up: Holder to Speak on Ferguson Probe

Wyoming Democrat Richard Grayson 4 Economic Justice
Wyoming Democrat Richard Grayson 4 Economic Justice.

By: Richard Grayson

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Wyoming Democrat Richard Grayson 4 Economic Justice - Video

Rick Perry Deletes Tweet Calling DA #39;Most Drunk Democrat in Texas #39;
Rick Perry deletes a tweet that called District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg the must drunk Democrat in Texas http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/01/rick-perry-deletes-tweet-calling-district...

By: David Pakman Show

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Rick Perry Deletes Tweet Calling DA 'Most Drunk Democrat in Texas' - Video

Washington Whats the matter with Kansas?

Suddenly, theres no Democrat running for Senate in the Sunflower State and thats good news for the Democratic Party, which is fighting to keep its Senate majority. In improbable fashion, deep-red Kansas could be the Democrats savior.

Democratic nominee Chad Taylor abruptly withdrew from the race Wednesday, amid poor fundraising and low poll numbers. Independent candidate Greg Orman can now go one-on-one against three-term Sen. Pat Roberts (R), who just survived a bruising primary. The early thinking is that Mr. Orman, a wealthy businessman, has a real shot.

Apparently, national Republicans think so as well. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is dispatching veteran campaign strategist Chris LaCivita to Kansas to help Roberts, according to The New York Times.

A mid-August poll by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Orman beating Senator Roberts by 10 points 43 percent to 33 percent in a hypothetical matchup. Now that pairing (plus a low-scoring libertarian) is no longer so hypothetical. Perhaps more alarming for Roberts is that the same poll showed him with just a 27 percent approval rating.

If Roberts loses in November, and the Democrats can convince Orman to caucus with them, that could spell the difference between losing and keeping their Senate majority.

Roberts has the fight of his life on his hands. And if you were going to cast a vote right now, youd be talking about Kansas sending, I believe, our first independent to Congress. This is huge, Chapman Rackaway, a professor of political science at Fort Hays State University, told The Wichita Eagle.

Mr. Rackaway predicted that Mr. Taylors supporters would flock to Orman.

Roberts isnt the only Republican incumbent in trouble in Kansas. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) faces a spirited challenge from Democrat Paul Davis; polls are close. Mr. Davis, Democratic leader in the Kansas House, says that tax cuts are wrecking the state budget and harming public education. In July, Davis announced the support of 100 Kansas Republicans, including more than 50 former legislators.

In their statement of support, the Republicans accused Governor Brownback, a former US senator, of bringing back from Washington a sharp-edged, win-at-all-costs political approach.

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Kansas shakeup could ruin GOP Senate takeover

Video: Kansas Democrat Chad Taylor Withdraws From Senate Race

Kansas Democrat Chad Taylors decision to end his campaign against Sen. Pat Roberts (R., Kan.) threw a monkey wrench into the Senate map. Suddenly, a safe GOP Senate seat is perceived as vulnerable, with Mr. Roberts facing political independent Greg Orman, a millionaire who has been campaigning with a pox-on-both-political parties message, instead of a splintered field that could divide the anti-incumbent vote.

Heres a look at the questions surrounding the Kansas Senate race as it stands now:

Who is Greg Orman? Hes a wealthy businessman from the Kansas City suburbs who made millions from a lighting company. He briefly campaigned as a Democrat against Mr. Roberts in 2008, though he terminated his campaign before the primary. He has the ability to self-fund but so far has tapped only $46,749 from his personal cash to the campaign, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission filings.

Does he really have a chance to defeat Mr. Roberts? Hard to say. The Rothenberg Political Report declared Mr. Roberts the most vulnerable Republican senator in the country, though thats a relatively low bar given that the only incumbent Republican with an even remotely competitive race is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.

Theres been scant polling since Mr. Roberts survived his primary, winning 48% of the vote. Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling found Mr. Orman led Mr. Roberts by 10 percentage points in a two-way race.

Was this orchestrated by Washington Democrats? Democratic leaders in D.C., like Mr. Orman, insisted the Mr. Taylors departure was a surprise to them. But the Washington Post reported that Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) spoke with Mr. Taylor in recent days about dropping out of the race to boost Mr. Orman. The Kansas GOP smells a rat.

Can an independent really win a Senate race?Its much easier when theres not a real threat from one of the major parties. Maine voters in 2012 sent independentAngus King to the Senate after national Democrats ignored their partys candidate. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is technically an independent, though that is because he is more liberally aligned than most Democrats. Both Mr. King and Mr. Sanders caucus with Senate Democrats Mr. Orman said hed side with whichever party has a clear majority. In the event of a tie hes said hed seek the best deal for Kansas, and presumably himself.

What was Mr. Ormans reaction been to Mr. Taylor dropping out? Radio silence so far. Mr. Ormans issued a brief milquetoast statement Wednesday afternoon calling Mr. Taylors withdrawal certainly an unexpected turn of events. He didnt conduct any other interviews and the campaign has been quiet on social media. He has built his campaign brand around the idea of his being an independent but to win Mr. Orman must win support from base Democrats, so it will be worth watching how he moderates that message.

How are Kansas Republicans taking the news? Theyre unhappy and trying to stop it. The Roberts campaign called Mr. Taylors withdrawal a corrupt bargain and the state party on Thursday suggested that Mr. Taylor cannot drop out of the race without proving that he would be incapable of holding office.

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With Democrat Out, Kansas Senate Race Is Suddenly Interesting