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

After Border Patrol agents found and confiscated bags of the drug hidden inside a bus, federal prosecutors threatened to fine Turimex $1,000 per ounce of recovered cocaine. Turimex balked, saying they didn’t know the drugs were on the bus and were thus protected by the Tariiff Act of 1930. However, the wording of the Tariff Act of 1930 only protects ship’s owners and masters.   read more

Dunford was tapped in 2012 to go back into the field as the commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Because Gen. John Allen, the previous occupant of the job, was under investigation connected to the Gen. George Petraeus probe, Dunford’s nomination was fast-tracked and he took over the job in February 2013. Dunford served in Afghanistan until his nomination as commandant.   read more

In 2000, he went back to Cairo as deputy regional security officer. He was named regional security officer in Tokyo four years later. After his stint in Tokyo, Smith was named director of the Office of Physical Security Programs. His next post was as deputy assistant secretary and assistant director for countermeasures in October 2009 and he held that job until his nomination to lead the Office of Foreign Missions.   read more

“The typical occupant populations for these facilities are young, fit, Afghan soldiers and recruits who have the physical ability to make a hasty retreat during a developing situation,” Major General Michael Eyre, commander of the Army Corps’s Transatlantic Division, wrote in a memo. The structures include 83 barracks, four medical clinics and two fire stations.   read more

The recent recall and controversy surrounding General Motors is one prime example, bill supporters say. Some GM officials knew about their cars’ faulty ignition switches as early as 2001, and yet allowed them to be sold and driven for years after. At least 13 people may have died as a result of these decisions. So far, the worst that the federal government has thrown at GM for its negligence is $35 million in fines, with no managers or executives facing prosecution.   read more

Last year, the U.S. insurance industry produced $1 billion in policies covering hacker attacks. By the end of 2014, the figure is expected to reach $2 billion. Despite the clear risks that hackers pose, companies aren’t making the decision lightly to buy the new kind of insurance, which can cost $20,000-$25,000 per $1 million in coverage.   read more

American officials confirmed the incident took place before the July 4 holiday, prompting the removal of the male nurse from the forced-feeding area. The nurse may be in his forties, Latino, holding the rank of either lieutenant or captain. He was quoted as having announced, “I have come to the decision that I refuse to participate in this criminal act.”   read more

Debra Harrell of North Augusta was arrested after police learned she was regularly leaving her nine-year-old daughter at a nearby park for hours at a time while she worked at McDonald’s. The child was given a cell phone in case of emergencies and reportedly not harmed while alone in Summerfield.   read more

The Department of Justice trumpeted reaching a $7 billion deal with Citigroup to settle charges of “egregious misconduct” in its sale of mortgage-backed securities. But critics of the deal are crying foul. “The $7 billion settlement...is meaningless without disclosure of...how many hundreds of billions of dollars Citigroup made, how many tens of billions investors lost, how many billions in bonuses were pocketed, [and] which executives were involved,” said Dennis Kelleher.   read more

It’s not just the Pentagon and other high profile U.S. agencies that have to worry about Chinese hackers. Even the little guys in Washington are coming under attack. Lower profile agencies with no secret data, like those overseeing personnel and printing, have now been infiltrated. Hackers may have just been curious to know what these offices do. “Along the way you’re going to shake a lot of doorknobs,” said Shawn Henry. “If the door is unlocked, why not look in?”   read more

American spying overseas has proven so worrisome that one U.S. ally is considering ditching email and using typewriters to communicate classified information that can’t be intercepted electronically. Germany, whose government officials and citizens were angered last year upon learning the NSA had spied on them, is thinking seriously about embracing pre-computer technology. Some people are so concerned that they meet in person over coffee to keep conversations private.   read more

The tamarisk beetle has been both a blessing and a curse in the American Southwest. The agricultural industry and state water officials in Arizona have welcomed the insect because of its appetite for the tamarisk tree, a non-native species that critics say uses too much water, up to 200 gallons a day. But ecologists argue the beetles will only cause other problems, demonstrating the complicated efforts by man to correct his interference with nature.   read more

Most medicines sold in the U.S. come with instructions that call for teaspoon- or tablespoon-sized amounts. The problem with this method is that it can lead to dangerous overdosing for children. About 10,000 people each year contact poison control centers because of confusion about medicine directions. That’s why some professional organizations are now advocating for American liquid medicines to be dispensed in milliliters, which produces fewer risks of overdosing kids.   read more

Tens of thousands of businesses have been caught polluting the air, water or soil, but rarely does the federal government prosecute the leaders of these lawbreakers. There are more than 64,000 facilities in federal databases with violations of U.S. environmental laws, but less than 0.5% result in prosecutions. That’s because the government has consistently preferred to take civil actions against corporate polluters, even though laws exist to charge executives criminally.   read more

The FDA has come under scrutiny for allegedly playing favorites when it comes to giving out grants. Complaints have surfaced within the scientific community about FDA funding for research being conducted by members of the agency’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. In helping to support those efforts, the agency has chosen to reject “several projects deemed by an NIH panel to have greater scientific merit,” conducted by researchers not represented on the committee   read more

In the wake of congressional investigations into the agency’s work, the IRS now will only screen about 20% of all applicants requesting tax-exempt charitable status, even though concerns still exist about groups committing fraud and abusing the tax code for political purposes. The change will certainly make the workload easier at the IRS. An 80% reduction in reviews will translate into processing up to 50,000 fewer 501(c)(3) applications a year.   read more