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

House Bill 2, adopted last year during a special legislative session, requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic where they work. Abortion rights advocates denounced the legislation, claiming the requirement was unnecessary and actually a veiled attempt to limit access to abortions. Since the law went into effect, 13 of the state’s 37 medical facilities offering abortion services have gone out of business.   read more

In just the past two years, more than three dozen prosecutions around the country have involved the referencing or admitting of rap lyrics as evidence. District attorneys and police argue that the lyrics can amount to a confession of murder. But the strategy also can be used to sway a judge or jury into just thinking the defendant is guilty.   read more

As for the death ray, prosecutors described it in their motion as a “weaponized, mobilized and remotely controlled radiation-emitting device designed to kill or seriously injure unsuspecting human targets.” Prosecutors insist the weapon was not a pipe dream, and that Crawford was powering it up last summer when agents stormed a garage in the village of Galway, north of Albany.   read more

After Obama’s inauguration, Johnson was named general counsel for the Department of Defense. One of his major achievements in that position was the co-authorship of a report on why the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy should be overturned. Congress took its recommendations to heart and now gays may serve openly in the armed forces. Johnson was also a defender of the military’s increased use of drones, writing memos providing legal cover for their use.   read more

In 2004, Yellen was made president of the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco. She was one of the first to herald the coming financial crisis in 2007, urging tightening of rules for making home loans. She later acknowledged, however, that the San Francisco Fed didn’t do all it could have to ameliorate the crash, particularly in respect to Countrywide Financial’s toxic loan portfolio. Yellen left San Francisco in 2010, when Obama nominated her to be vice chair of the Fed.   read more

The FDA has decided to get into the counterterrorism game by proposing new rules to prevent the poisoning of the nation’s food supply. Food manufacturers would be required to secure products from “intentional adulteration.” Many food suppliers don’t use basic security such as surveillance cameras, locking up warehouses, and conducting background checks on temporary workers. So introducing a contaminant -- salmonella, botulism, mercury -- into the food chain would not be difficult.   read more

Georgia’s new gun legislation would allow residents to carry firearms through much of society: schools, churches, restaurants, airports and even bars. The NRA called it “the most comprehensive pro-gun” bill in recent state history. Organizations opposing it include the state’s police chiefs and restaurant associations, several churches, and TSA. One poll showed 70% of Georgians oppose it. The bill’s passage demonstrates how successful the gun lobby has been in pushing its agenda.   read more

Opponents of fracking have won a partial victory before Wyoming’s highest court in the fight over disclosing what chemicals are used by drillers. The ruling may set an important precedent in future cases involving disclosure of fracking chemicals. Critics have tried for four years to reveal fracking ingredients, ever since the state became the first in the nation to adopt a rule requiring such disclosure. That rule came about as a result of water contamination found near well sites.   read more

Likening the receipt of scholarship money to an employer paycheck, a federal labor official has ruled that college football players can form unions. The surprising decision has huge financial implications for big-money college sports, including potential for workers’ compensation coverage for sports injuries. Players are backed by former players Ramogi Huma and Kain Colter, who testified that his grueling 60-hour weeks in football resulted in sacrificing his dream of becoming a surgeon.   read more

President Barack Obama has again overstepped his presidential authority, according to House Republicans, who now want to curtail his ability to turn public lands into national monuments. So under their proposed legislation, no new national monuments would be created unless studies are performed and input is gathered from local citizens. National monuments have been established by presidents since Theodore Roosevelt, who created Grand Canyon National Monument.   read more

• About a third of respondents were unaware that they had to get health insurance this month or be penalized. • Nearly half were clueless about the health exchanges set up for people to purchase insurance through Healthcare.gov. • More than half didn’t know about the subsidies available to help low-income individuals afford coverage.   read more

In a reversal of lower court rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court decided this week that severance payments are subject to payroll tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Quality Stores, an agricultural-specialty retailer that initiated the civil case, made FICA payments on behalf of its workers when it paid them severance. The company later filed for a $1 million refund from the Internal Revenue Service, arguing that the severance was non-taxable income.   read more

The 2009 Safe Storage Law mandated that handguns must be kept in locked containers or have an approved trigger lock installed when not being carried, even within private homes. A second ordinance upheld by the court barred the sale of hollow-point bullets within city limits, but did not prohibit the ownership or use of such ammunition.   read more

Prokhorov still has political ambitions back in Russia, where it was rumored he wants to run for mayor of Moscow. But currently he can’t run for office, not since Putin pushed through a law outlawing any Russian with foreign assets from being elected. Second, the Obama administration has already imposed some sanctions against Russia’s elite, and if more are put into place, that could leave Prokhorov’s NBA franchise vulnerable.   read more

According to the report, Saudi textbooks have included the following passages: “Kill the person who changes his religion … for there is no benefit in keeping them alive.” “It is permissible to kill a sorcerer” (particularly notable given Saudi police arrested more than 200 people in 2012 alone for alleged sorcery). Pagans, Christians and Jews are “the worst creatures” who “will dwell in hellfire.” God made Jews out of “swine and apes.”   read more

One U.S. Army base sits atop miles of hidden trenches containing blister agents, choking agents, blood agents and more. It is surrounded by homes, schools, churches and shopping centers—and few residents are aware of the toxic danger lurking nearby. The quantity of weapons at this site: 388,000. Up to 25,000 of these are intact and, once disturbed, may be volatile. “This stuff is very dangerous to dig up," said James Watson. "If you get that nerve agent on you, it will kill you.”   read more