The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

The SEC ruled that KBR’s actions had the potential to intimidate workers from reporting allegations of fraud. This was done “by requiring its employees and former employees to sign confidentiality agreements imposing pre-notification requirements before contacting the SEC,” said SEC's Andrew Ceresney. Former KBR employee Harry Barko had sued the contractor, accusing it and Halliburton of inflating the cost of a military supply contract for U.S. bases in Iraq.   read more

The local city council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that protects atheists in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. They now join the city’s long list of protected classes that include sex, race, religion, color, age, disability, gender identity, and political beliefs. “This is important because I believe it is only fair that if we protect religion, in all its varieties, we should also protect non-religion from discrimination,” said sponsor Anita Weier.   read more

The requirement was included in Senate Bill 1318, approved this week by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. “It has no data behind it, absolutely no science to show that this is an effective method," said Dr. Ilana Addis.“If ever there is an example of Legislative overreach, this would be it," said Dr. Eric Reuss. "There is absolutely no evidence-based data that the [medication abortion] process can be reversed. If passed, our state government will force physicians to impart hearsay to their patients.”   read more

“Better-informed patients are more likely to take better care of themselves, comply with prescription drug regimens and even detect early-warning signals of illness,” said Steve Lohr. Some hospitals are starting to see the wisdom of letting patients access their records online. Not all hospitals have embraced data sharing. “The problem is that you have institutions whose business models do not favor sharing information, either with other hospitals or patients,” said professor Ben Shneiderman.   read more

Governor Andrew Cuomo had promised the new ethics measures would clean up the state legislature. But the state’s top law enforcement official said, “It is hard to see how these changes in the law will have any meaningful effect on public corruption.” Among other things, the changes don’t address a loophole in state law that permits businesses to give large campaign donations as smaller gifts in an effort to disguise who’s giving the money.   read more

At least three major financial institutions—Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs—have separately said wind and solar power projects won’t be deterred by cheap oil. Financial experts say petroleum and renewable energy are more exclusive of one another than many people realize. Oil is vital for automobiles and home heating, but provides only 1% of the electrical generation in the U.S. Solar, wind and hydropower, however, contribute to 12% of the electricity on the grid.   read more

Such a change was soundly rejected by survey respondents, with 87% saying at-will would politicize their ranks, weaken morale and possibly drive talented people from the federal workforce.More than 90% said making members of the SES at-will employees would discourage them from disagreeing with their political bosses, or increase the likelihood of being fired if they did speak up. One survey respondent said, “It will convert the SES into a cadre of political hacks.”   read more

Lawyer Matt Anderson said the law opens up “the path of least resistance among its species to have a court adjudicate it in a manner that could ultimately be used to discriminate…" It “explicitly applies to disputes between private citizens,” said ThinkProgress. “This means it could be used as a cudgel by corporations to justify discrimination against individuals that might otherwise be protected.” The law already took root elsewhere; Arkansas on Tuesday passed a bill nearly identical to it.   read more

Judge Ramos ruled that Restis will “not get [his] day in court, but cannot be told why.” Glenn Greenwald called the ruling “a truly stunning debasement of the U.S. justice system” that “occurred through the joint efforts of the Obama Justice Department and a meek and frightened Obama-appointed federal judge, Edgardo Ramos, all in order to protect an extremist neocon front group from scrutiny and accountability. The details are crucial for understanding the magnitude of the abuse here.”   read more

Suspicion was first raised when Mo Hailong was found to be snooping around Iowa corn fields owned by Monsanto and Pioneer. The FBI began to investigate the Mos, tapping cellphone calls and going through email. “Stealing hybrid seeds enhanced with traits such as drought resistance doesn’t pose the same immediate threat as a suicide bomber, but the FBI treats economic espionage and similar trade secret theft as dangerous threats to national security,” wrote the Register's Grant Rodgers.   read more

Times are good for veterans seeking work, either with the federal government or in general. The Office of Personnel Management has reported that a third of all new hires by federal agencies last year were veterans, a record. The increase is a result of the Veterans Employment Initiative, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009 to increase the number of veterans in civil service positions. The effort has involved establishing liaisons at every agency to recruit veterans.   read more

Deborah Maynard will deliver the invocation early this month before the Iowa House of Representatives, marking a first for the legislative body. Maynard was asked to appear before lawmakers by her representative, Liz Bennett, a Democrat from Linn County, who was looking for someone different to give the invocation. Bennett has drawn criticism for the selection of Maynard."I am a little bit surprised that it has become as controversial as it has,” Bennett told KCCI.   read more

The smartphone owners were sent daily messages informing them of the number of times their personal information—current location, incoming and outgoing phone calls, their contacts lists—had been shared with app companies. One message read: “Your location has been shared 5,398 times with Facebook, Groupon...and seven other apps in the last 14 days.” People were taken off guard. One person reacted: “4,182 (times) – are you kidding me? It felt like I’m being followed by my own phone. It was scary."   read more

The costly drugs are effective—with cure rates of upwards of 90% and fewer dangerous side effects. “Curing hepatitis C will likely go on to prevent liver cancer, go on to prevent patients needing liver transplantation, go on to save health care dollars down the road,” said liver specialist Dr. Adam Peyton, who prescribed $13.5 million worth of hepatitis C drugs in Part D last year. “It’s upsetting that there's been so much negative publicity for such a positive breakthrough in medicine.”   read more

Dash-cam footage showed agents smashing the car window of Navy veteran Thomas Sauer, 26, then forcibly yanking him from his car after he chose to “opt out” of discussing his citizenship. “I did it because I don't agree with the premise of questioning citizens without suspicion,” said Sauer. The incident led to his being fired from his job. “Often, local citizens are subjected to extended interrogation and detainment” said ACLU attorney Mitra Ebadolahi. “These are mini police-state zones.”   read more

Statistics show that Alabama judges, who are elected to the bench, have overridden juries in murder cases 111 times since the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976. Of that 111, judges have upgraded the sentences to death 101 times. Of those, 80% occurred in the year leading up to a judge’s reelection. "Alabama judges, who are elected in partisan proceedings, appear to have succumbed to electoral pressures.” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor   read more