A bill aimed at the too-big-to-fail banks in Congress would require mega banks to increase the amount of capital reserves they hold to prevent them from possibly cashing in on taxpayer bailouts.---

Top of the Alty World

“Too-Big-to-Fail Takes Another Body Blow”—Rolling Stone

State legislatures are seeking to pass laws to make it a felony to enforce federal gun laws.--ProPublica

Truthout goes on a fracking road trip to evaluate the damage the controversial practice has already inflicted, stopping first in rural Crooks Valley, Wisconsin.—Truthout

The Long Island Press profiles a community of Muslim-Americans bracing for fear and suspicion against them in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.—Long Island Press

Top of Alty Utah

While Sen. Orrin Hatch praised a comprehensive immigration-reform bill, he came short of supporting it.—KUER

Utah Policy’s Bryan Schott talks with outgoing Utah GOP Chair Thomas Wright about where the party’s headed next and the coming battle to change the party’s caucus and convention system.—Salt Lake City Weekly

A unique design competition brings submissions from around the world on how revitalize some of downtown Salt Lake City’s alleys, parking lots and other public spaces.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Veteran news reporter Chris Vanocur talks about life since his layoff from Channel 4 ABC.—Salt Lake City Weekly

Rantosphere

CW reporter Stephen Dark questions KSL’s decision to use shocking plane-wreck footage on its news broadcast while also pulling the airing of the TV show drama Hannibal for being too disturbing.

“This seems something of a head-scratcher to me. You pull the torturous undramatic delights of Hannibal, yet you hit your viewers straight between the eyes with a searing video of the real deaths of seven men?”—Salt Lake City Weekly

The Long View

Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi has been detained on the island for over a decade despite being cleared of any charges by multiple government agencies and having been ordered to be released by a U.S. District Judge in 2010 (the Department of Justice appealed the decision). Here is an excerpt from Slahi’s memoirs of life at Gitmo, describing his initiation into intensive interrogation.

“In the block, the recipe started. I was deprived of my comfort items, except for a thin iso-mat and a very thin, small, and worn-out blanket. I was deprived of my books, which I owned. I was deprived of my Quran. I was deprived of my soap. I was deprived of my toothpaste. I was deprived of the roll of toilet paper I had. The cell—better, the box—was cooled down so that I was shaking most of the time. I was forbidden from seeing the light of the day. Every once in a while, they gave me a rec time in the night to keep me from seeing or interacting with any detainees. I was living literally in terror. I don’t remember having slept one night quietly; for the next 70 days to come, I wouldn’t know the sweetness of sleeping. Interrogation for 24 hours, three and sometimes four shifts a day. I rarely got a day off.”--Slate