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Daily Bafflements

• A former U.S. attorney writes in the Washington Post about why it’s so difficult to prosecute a police officer: it’s all about the officer’s state of mind. “Federal law sets a very high bar, and essentially requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that an officer intended to deprive a person of his civil rights,” explains Jenny Durkan. (Via The Marshall Project.)

• Meanwhile, across the pond, Britain is introducing a new antiterrorism law that will expand police powers, making it easier for authorities to seize travelers’ passports and track suspects online.

• The Republic of Zuckerstan grows: read this in-depth piece from the Boston Globe on the “families living in the shadow of the innovation economy,” where Cambridge’s poorest neighborhood abuts Kendall Square’s high-tech towers and new start-up labs. (Via Zachary Davis.)

• Factory wages continue to fall across the country, reports the New York Times: “Washington still paints the manufacturing sector as a gateway to the middle class, even if the gate is closing.”