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

High officials from six Persian Gulf countries got assurances from President Barack Obama that the United States would respond, perhaps with military force, to an “external threat” to any of the countries. Amnesty International has cataloged human rights abuses in each of those countries.   read more

The military knows that children can become addicted to video games and that some, such as “Call to Duty,” can get them excited at the prospect of going into battle. The key is to get contact information on the potential recruits. That task has been made easier thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act. Part of that law’s mandate is that schools turn over personal information on students to military recruiters and allow them access to the schools for their message.   read more

The National Security Agency (NSA) is offering technology to local law enforcement agencies, including programs that pick different voices out of a crowd; cryptographic key generation; transmitter location; and even one that can facilitate the sorting of large amounts of data, such as that that might be gathered in a cell tower dump. Some of this technology can be used in conjunction with devices such as a Stingray, a cell tower mimicking device provided to some agencies by the FBI.   read more

In 2006, Szemerkényi was named chief advisor for international public relations to the CEO of MOL group, the Hungarian oil and gas company. That same year, she also became a senior associate in the Institute of Kremlinology at Gáspár Károli Reformed University. Orbán and Fidesz returned to office in 2010 and by 2011 Szemerkényi was the prime minister’s chief advisor on security policy. Szemerkényi’s views are said to be completely in line with those of Orbán.   read more

The CIA paid Poland as much as $50 million to use the Stare Kiejkuty intelligence base to interrogate prisoners it brought in from other countries. Former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and then-Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who allowed the use of the base, may even be subject to prosecution. Many Poles feel betrayed that their country, so recently subject to abuses under Communist rule, was used as a torture site by the United States.   read more

The study showed that homes in predominately black and Latino neighborhoods were three times as likely to be foreclosed on than those in white neighborhoods, with those in mixed neighborhoods also at a higher risk of foreclosure. The problem was exacerbated when white families fled those neighborhoods and black or Latino families, taking advantage of lower housing prices, moved in.   read more

After three years of negotiations, Pope Francis has ended the administration of the U.S. nuns’ leadership group, handing control back to the nuns themselves. Under Pope Benedict, the Vatican initiated the takeover of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), whose members represent about 80% of U.S. nuns.   read more

Shannon Morgan entered 8THEIST into the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission website and it was rejected with the message “requested plate is considered objectionable.” However when Morgan entered “BAPTIST,” she was allowed to continue with the application.   read more

In May 2015, Ravel said it is unlikely that the FEC, which has three Democrats and three Republicans on its board, will be able to do much to regulate the coming presidential election. “The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” she told The New York Times. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the FEC is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”   read more

The Department of Homeland Security, in 2003, issued an emergency alert to its air marshals of a possible hijacking on a commercial flight--“a more ambitious, broader-scale version of the 9/11 plot.” But within 48 hours, one of those marshals, Robert MacLean, received a text message from TSA cancelling overnight missions, in order to save money on hotel lodging. Outraged, MacLean reported it to TSA’s IG but it led nowhere. So he leaked the story to MSNBC and , in return, got fired by TSA.   read more

“Four people lost their lives and their families lost loved ones because DuPont did not have proper safety procedures in place,” said David Michaels. Despite the tough words, OSHA proposed a fine of only $99,000 for the violations. Considering DuPont generated $34.7 billion in revenue last year, the fine won’t amount to so much as a blip in the company’s annual report. In response to the OSHA citation, DuPont's Aaron Woods insisted that “safety is a core value and constant priority at DuPont.”   read more

A report from Service Employees International Union shows that 19.3% of all franchises purchased with SBA loans from 2006 to 2010 have failed. That failure rate has increased over time; loans originating from 1991 to 1995 failed 12.7% of the time. Two franchises with the highest failure rates are Golf Etc., at 49.6%, and All Tune and Lube at 41.6%. Purchasers of those two franchises were almost even money to go down the tubes, costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars.   read more

A report from the Society of Actuaries shows that the most popular “preference-sensitive” procedure undergone by new Obamacare subscribers is knee replacement surgery. A preference-sensitive procedure is one without which a patient can continue for some time, although their quality of life can be improved with the operation.   read more

Evuna Andeme is not an ordinary citizen; his father, Alejandro Evuna Asangono Owono, is minister of state and his sister, Mari-Cruz Evuna Andeme, is ambassador to the United Kingdom, is the president of the country. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s government is known as one of the most repressive in the world.   read more

The PTC system could have saved the lives of the seven who have died so far as a result of the Philadelphia accident. Amtrak has gotten no help from Congress in making its lines safer. The morning after the crash, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee actually voted along party lines to cut funding to the passenger rail line by about 20%. And a bill proposed in March by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) would delay the PTC implementation deadline to 2020.   read more

The House Appropriations Committee has denied funding to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to make its reports available to the taxpayers who pay for those reports. CRS’s talents lie in dissecting policy issues without regard to the ideological biases of those making its budget. Former CRS analyst Kevin Kosar wrote earlier this year that their reports are often not respected by Congress. "Lawmakers ignored our work or trashed us if our findings ran contrary to their beliefs,” he said.   read more