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

Some police departments around the country have used private foundations to buy controversial technology not subject to public discussion or official review. The Atlanta Police Foundation bought citywide surveillance cameras and the monitoring center that controls them. Elsewhere, foundation money has been used to buy license plate readers, which can gather information on every vehicle, and Sting Ray devices, which track mobile phone usage.   read more

It’s not Chevron, ExxonMobil or Shell whose wells were found to leak the most methane in 2012. Instead it was a small company, Halcón Resources, which won the title for allowing the highest percentage of the gas to escape into the atmosphere. Halcón’s wells sent 6.5 metric tons of methane into the air for each million cubic feet of natural gas produced at its fracking wells in 2012. Second and third on the list were two other small producers, Bill Barrett Corp., and Unit Corp.   read more

Convergent Outsourcing, collecting a debt allegedly owed to T-Mobile by Courtney Douglass, sent Douglass a collection letter. Such letters are regulated by the FDCPA, which states that the outside of the envelope can contain only the address of the collector. However, Convergent used an envelope with a glassine window which revealed Douglass’ account number and a symbol that could reveal how much money Douglass allegedly owed. Douglass sued, claiming the disclosure violated the FDCPA.   read more

Many of those who lost homes in the housing crisis are finding that their nightmare still is not over. That’s because banks are still pursuing them over the mortgages they defaulted on. Settlements that followed often did not cover the remaining balance on the loan. This has led to “deficiency judgments,” in which debt collectors are now hunting down the former homeowners. In many cases, the judgments result in frozen bank accounts, garnished wages and seized assets.   read more

Animal rights advocates have applauded the FBI's decision to upgrade animal cruelty crimes, putting them in the same category as murders. Going forward, anyone caught abusing animals will risk being charged with a Class A felony. That’s the same grouping of felonies for violent crimes, including homicides and assaults. Previously, animal cruelty was in an “other” crimes category, making them less important. The changes are expected to result in more convictions for those harming animals,   read more

Eric Lee was seen by witnesses pulling Whitlee Jones down the street by her hair before he later blocked her attempt to flee their residence. Jones’ attorney claims she attacked Lee with a knife only as a last resort, and that the state’s stand-your-ground law protects her from prosecution. A judge agreed with Jones. But the state appealed the ruling, insisting the law was never intended to apply to people involved in domestic violence.   read more

They are the legal equivalent of the Odd Couple on the U.S. Supreme Court: Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg and conservative Antonin Scalia. Rarely do these justices agree on much, but recently they found themselves on the same side in criticizing a decision by the court’s majority. Scalia and Ginsburg were joined by Justice Clarence Thomas in their dissent.   read more

After a year in prison on a drug possession charge, Barry Hazle Jr. was ordered into a 12-step program run by Westcare. The program included references to a “higher power” and God. Hazle requested another program, but was told there were none. A federal judge ruled that Hazle’s civil rights were violated by making him attend a program that conflicted with his beliefs. He will receive $1 million from the state and $925,000 from Westcare.   read more

Climate changes are likely to cause numerous negative consequences that will demand the attention of U.S. armed forces, including more risks of terrorism, food shortages, disease and poverty, according to a new Pentagon report. Drought and weather changes may produce unrest in volatile regions like the Middle East. That’s why the military will start amending its strategic planning for warfare in order to better respond to crises brought on by or exacerbated by climate change.   read more

One would think that if more than a billion stolen dollars could be retrieved, the U.S. government would pursue a good lead. But successive presidential administrations have chosen not to investigate it. It was the mission of Stuart W. Bowen to find out where the funds went. When he heard that the cash had been shipped to Lebanon and hidden in a bunker, he told the FBI and CIA. But neither agency pursued it. Bowen attempted to go to Lebanon himself, but was forbidden to do so by his bosses.   read more

Some military observers say the Pentagon may be increasing air support missions to help American ground forces pull out of forward operating bases and prepare to ship home. Other experts say more U.S. bombing attacks may become a regular part of the strategy in Afghanistan to compensate for fewer troops starting next year, when only 12,500 will remain behind to help Afghan security forces handle the brunt of the war against insurgents.   read more

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has faulted budget cuts, and thus Congress, for the lack of an Ebola vaccine. In fact, the lack of funding has forced NIH to slow all its research. Even now, with the media frenzy over two cases of Ebola occurring in the U.S., there is little action on Capitol Hill to provide NIH with emergency supplemental funding. “Nobody seems enthusiastic about that,” Collins said.   read more

Hundreds of millions of pounds of pharmaceuticals are dumped into wastewater systems each year, posing serious threats to many species and ecosystems, researchers say. They are often disposed of by hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and other facilities where people are on medication. There’s currently no rule that forbids this practice and as a result, some facilities dispose of 1,000 or more pills a month in this way. Even trace amount of drugs can have a negative effect on wildlife.   read more

A law that allows police to confiscate money from people not charged with a crime has netted hundreds of millions of dollars that they have spent on weapons, armored cars and even entertainment. The list includes Humvees, a helicopter, automatic weapons, gas grenades, night-vision scopes, sniper gear, a coffee pot and the booking of at least one clown. “All of this is fundamentally at odds with the U.S. Constitution,” said Brad Cates, who was in charge of the program from 1985 to 1989.   read more

An analysis of more than 1,200 fatal police shootings over a two-year period "certainly seems to support what has been an article of faith in the African American community for decades: Blacks are being killed at disturbing rates when set against the rest of the American population,” ProPublica reports. Not all law enforcement agencies report their shootings to the FBI, so it’s likely that the numbers actually understate the number of people killed by police.   read more

For the first time since the no-fly list was set up after the 9/11 attacks, officials in Washington have publicly acknowledged to some who had been prohibited from getting on a commercial airliner that they were on the list. Seven people were officially identified as being on the list and removed from it, but only after Homeland Security lost a court fight to keep those names a secret. One of those seven, Abe Mashal, declared: “Today, I learned I have my freedoms back.”   read more