Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent messages to all members of Congress terminating their positions, stating “Your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment.” All Democratic and independent members of Congress, as well as two Republicans, found themselves locked out of their offices after everything inside had been confiscated.   read more

In 2012, the Fed handed $1.637 billion in dividends to banks. It’s “a risk-free entitlement program,” wrote David Dayen. “It’s one of the many unknown ways the Fed extends special benefits to Wall Street.” But senators have now turned to the banks’ 6% dividend for a source of funding. Without any advance notice to the banking industry, they included a provision in the highway bill that would reduce the dividend to 1.5% for banks. The reduction would reap about $17 billion for the government.   read more

“Loneliness is a form of suffering in older people that is prevalent but undetected and untreated in medical practice,” said researcher Donovan. "Our work shows that loneliness, like depression, is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older Americans." Other researchers found watching too much TV might also lower cognitive function. People who watch four or more hours of TV had a 1.5% higher risk of performing worse on cognitive tests compared with those who watched less TV.   read more

At the start of this decade, North Carolina’s voting laws were a model of inclusion. The state allowed 17 days of early voting, teenagers who were approaching voting age could pre-register to vote, there was same-day registration and voters could even cast ballots outside their assigned precinct. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles was also required to contact drivers about being registered when they reported an address change.   read more

The Justice Department has apparently decided that it gets to decide if it will be investigated. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karl Thompson, who runs the Office of Legal Counsel, released a 58-page ruling (pdf) Thursday saying that inspectors general must ask for permission for access to wiretaps, grand jury and credit information.   read more

According to information at Opensecrets.org, those supporting the bill got about $30 million to do so from Big Ag. The 275 representatives of both parties who voted to keep consumers in the dark about the food they’re consuming averaged $108,900 in contributions from agricultural interests such as Monsanto and food lobbyists such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association in the 2014 election cycle.   read more

The site provides many statistics on skin cancers, including that indoor tanning is linked to more skin cancers than cigarettes to lung cancers. Medical studies appear to support this surprising fact. According to the American Cancer Society, there were 224,210 new cases of lung cancer in the United States in 2014. A study published in JAMA Dermatology journal estimated that more than 419,000 cases of skin cancer a year can be attributed to indoor tanning.   read more

On January 14, Conan read this joke that Kaseberg claims he had posted earlier that day: “A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to New York with just two passengers. And they fought over control of the armrest the entire flight.” Then, on February 4, Conan used this joke, which Kaseberg claims he wrote and posted the day before: “Tom Brady said he wants to give his MVP truck to the man who won the game for the Patriots. So enjoy that truck, Pete Carroll."   read more

The hackers are looking for information on everything from electronics to plant seeds—anything to put Chinese manufacturers on an equal footing with those from the United States which did the original research and development on a product. Last year, a California businessman was convicted of selling China the secret to what makes Oreo cookie filling so consistently white. Others have been charged with stealing plant seeds.   read more

--Homicides involving white victims are seven times more likely to result in an execution than that of a black victim. --Homicides involving white females are 14 times more likely to result in executions than those involving black male victims. --Although fewer than 40% of murder victims in Missouri were white, 81% of executed murderers killed a white victim.   read more

Up to about $83 million was run through the operation. Task force records account for most of it, but as much as $12 million is unaccounted for. Large withdrawals were being made from task force bank accounts with no accounting for what the money was spent on. There were trips to Las Vegas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with agents staying in luxurious accommodations. Money taken as commissions in the laundering business was also used to pay for task force members’ salaries.   read more

Kepler 452b is larger than Earth, about 1.5 times the radius with five times the mass. More importantly, the exoplanet circles a sun-like star in an orbit that takes 385 days, just slightly longer than our own year. These qualities put Kepler 452b in the so-called “Goldilocks” habitable zone that scientists say could result in lukewarm temperatures and liquid water on the surface.   read more

Much of her work was with information technology systems, getting IT policies in international outposts to mesh with those prescribed by Washington, and other efforts at standardization to make the systems more efficient. Part of her mandate was also to look for cost-savings by contracting out some jobs and ensuring that missions were not overstaffed.   read more

H.R. 1734 would delay implementation of coal ash disposal restrictions, allow utilities to avoid publicly posting contamination data, and permit companies to continue dumping coal ash into leaking surface impounds for as many as eight years after contamination is documented. The bill is sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (R-West Virginia), who appears to be doing the bidding of his sponsors. His top five political donors are companies in the coal, gas, landfill and mining industries.   read more

The change in policy will also allow monies from PACs and lobbyists to go into accounts shared between the DNC and presidential campaigns. The DNC had refused such contributions under President Barack Obama, who said he wanted to change Washington’s big-money culture. Clinton, however, is worried about Jeb Bush’s fundraising efforts, and reportedly felt the rules put the DNC at a disadvantage she could not afford, assuming she becomes the party’s nominee   read more

The youngest convicted murderers in U.S. history will soon be released from prison in Florida. The 12-year-old boy now a 29-year-old man became an ordained minister while in prison. But he has “very little knowledge of the real world. He also leaves with the burden of a lifetime of probation, which one lawyer described to me as having one foot on a banana peel and one foot in the Department of Corrections,” Torres wrote. Catherine found love and married a pen pal while serving her time.   read more

Noyes went overseas again in 2008 as the deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires in the U.S. mission to the Holy See. She made some news when some cables she had sent concerning the Vatican were released through WikiLeaks. Among the subjects covered in her pithy cables were the Catholic priests’ sex abuse scandal in Ireland and the Vatican’s assistance in releasing U.S. citizens being held by Iran.   read more