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

Those living at or below the federal poverty level had a victimization rate of 39.8 per 1,000, while those with high incomes had a rate of only 16.9. The pattern was consistent between whites and blacks, with poor members of both races suffering more than their better-off counterparts. The one anomaly was among Hispanic populations. For them, the victimization rate was about the same regardless of income.   read more

On June 10, 2006, three prisoners were found hanging in their cells. The base commander, Rear Admiral Harry Harris, said not only were the deaths suicides, but were orchestrated to make the United States look bad. “I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us,” he said. Now Staff Sgt. Joseph Hickman, who was on duty the night of the deaths, has called the official version of events “impossible.”   read more

In accepting the job at the SEC, to which she was sworn in in April 2013, White pledged to wait a minimum of two years before handling any matters affecting a former employer or client. But, according to the waiver, the agency seemed to believe that it could not do without White’s expertise on Simpson Thacher, which represents “a large number of entities regulated by the [SEC] and appear before [it] regularly.”   read more

Christians laud Serra for his tireless, impassioned efforts to convert Indians to the faith. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1988. Others see the forced, if not brutal, denial of their native faith in a different light. The missions have been likened by critics to religious forced labor camps rather than churches.   read more

A new scientific study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says large-scale deaths of fish, birds and invertebrates increased over a 72-year period from 1940 to 2012. Researchers came to this conclusion after reviewing the records of 727 “mass mortality events.” The “good news” is that the number of die-offs for mammals remained about the same, while those involving amphibians and reptiles actually went down during the period under study.   read more

Valerie Deant, a sergeant in Florida’s National Guard, went to the Medley Police Firearms Training Center for her annual weapons certification when she noticed a familiar face on one of the targets riddled with bullets: her brother, Woody. Woody Deant served four years in prison last decade for taking part in a fatal drag race, but has since has gotten his life together. He was 18 when the booking photo was taken 15 years ago.   read more

Newly-elected Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation Thursday that moved from committee to his desk in one day and was the first bill he signed as governor. It will apply to students graduating in 2017. The test will be the one administered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to prospective citizens. Students will have to get 60 out of 100 questions correct to receive a passing grade.   read more

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States wanted to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion a year, a five-fold jump from $97 billion in 2013. He was in India for a two-day visit to set the stage for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit later in the month. This is the first time that a U.S. president has been invited to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26.   read more

In 2007, Tavares was made head of the Asia and Oceania Department of Bilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His first ambassadorial posting came in 2011 when he was sent to represent Angola in Ottawa, Canada. On August 24, 2014, Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos appointed Agostinho Tavares da Silva Neto to be his ambassador to the United States.   read more

The 114th Congress is only a couple of weeks old, and already powerful financial and corporate interests are having their way, particularly in the House. Legislation backed by Wall Street interests has targeted the Dodd-Frank reform law, which imposed a series of restrictions on banks and investment firms. Wall Street lobbying has been fierce. Combined with campaign contributions from various financial interests, 2014 saw a $1.2 billion war chest built for undermining Wall Street reform.   read more

The controversy prompted the CIA’s top man, John Brennan, to organize a panel to determine whether his agency had acted improperly. He stacked the five-member panel with three senior CIA officers, plus Robert F. Bauer, who has gone out of his way to protect the CIA from any wrongdoing with the torture program. The CIA panel’s report reached the opposite conclusion of the CIA’s inspector general, who previously said the five officers were wrong to search the files used by the Senate committee.   read more

The funding reductions have forced the loss of 12,000 positions at the tax agency. Fewer workers will mean longer times on hold for Americans calling the IRS for help. One estimate said the IRS may be able to answer only 43% of the 100 million calls it's expecting this year. Those who do get through to an IRS official will first have to wait an average of 30 minutes on the phone. The budget cut will also mean that taxpayers will have to wait an extra week or more to receive refunds.   read more

The inspector general says its office can’t really be sure just how many millions of taxpayer dollars were spent unnecessarily by FEMA because the agency’s insurance reviewers failed to properly document their decisions. The $177 million figure could actually be much higher because it was based on just a sampling of claims. The report suggests that FEMA make an effort to recoup those funds from the insurer. The seven hurricanes collectively resulted in $4.4 billion in insurance payments.   read more

The newspaper’s lawyer warned that the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent that could negatively impact news reporting. “If you are investigated for stealing public money, your expectation of privacy does not exceed my right to know you stole public money,” she said. Judge Moses said he “struggles with a government entity suing a private entity... I am terribly concerned that the Gazette gets sued and nothing is disclosed to them at all... It is chilling,"   read more

The Visa Waiver Program allows millions to travel between the U.S. and 38 countries without a visa, making it easy for tourists to come here and spend money. But the recent terror attacks in France have some Washington lawmakers rethinking the program, fearing it leaves the U.S. vulnerable to acts of terrorism. “The visa waiver program is the Achilles’ heel of America,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein. The program allows nearly 20 million foreign citizens into the U.S. each year.   read more

Federal prosecutors claim Sterling divulged classified information to get back at the CIA for not settling a discrimination lawsuit he launched against the agency. Sterling insists his actions were those of a whistleblower concerned about CIA management, which was why he raised concerns with the Senate committee. Sterling is the “latest in a string of former officials and contractors the Obama administration has charged with discussing national security matters with reporters,” wrote the Times.   read more