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 committee completed the report in 2012, but submitted the report to the CIA for vetting. Since then, the report has been in limbo with none of it available to the public. But committee members have said it discussed how CIA personnel misled Congress and the Bush administration about the techniques it was using to interrogate prisoners. It also shows, according to committee members, that the harsh techniques did not result in the information that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden in 2011.   read more

A study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) associates a 5.7-magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma—the most powerful in the state’s history—with the practice of injecting wastewater from fracking into the earth’s crust. The quake occurred on November 6, 2011, near Prague, Oklahoma.   read more

U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have all contended that the treaty, which forbids imprisonment without trial and arbitrary killings, among other abuses, does not apply to actions taken outside the United States. This interpretation has allowed these presidents to violate anti-torture and other provisions by holding prisoners outside the United States, including at Guantánamo Bay and at “black sites” around the world.   read more

The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the state’s method for funding schools created too many disparities between districts and must be modified. The state had cut payments to less-wealthy districts during the recent recession. Restoring that money will be difficult, thanks to massive tax cuts enacted by the state’s Republican governor, Sam Brownback, and its legislature.   read more

Many teens aren’t aware that hookah pens and e-cigarettes are often the same thing. Both devices use a fluid that contains flavor. With devices marketed as e-cigarettes, the fluid also contains nicotine. But the fluid used in hookah pens and vape pipes, which comes in flavors such as bubble gum and chocolate, often contains nicotine as well.   read more

Because the military did not recognize PTSD until years after the conflict ended, many veterans were denied government benefits and other opportunities had they received a discharge for medical reasons—something many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who suffer from PTSD now receive.   read more

In states where medical marijuana has been legal, pot has been sold by cooperatives and small businesses. But with the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, can the corporatization of the marijuana business be far behind? The state of Washington is mulling regulations that would virtually eliminate cooperatives and the dispensaries that are now giving advice with the marijuana they sell.   read more

With revenue drying up, municipalities have had to invent new ways to bring in funds to their coffers. A Florida city might win the prize for creativity, installing a red-light camera at an intersection next to a hospital, targeting those who are on their way to the emergency room.   read more

Liew and Maegerle, along with three other individuals, stole chemical manufacturer DuPont’s recipe for titanium dioxide, a widely used chemical responsible for $17 billion annually in sales. Titanium dioxide is a whitening agent that is used in products ranging from paints and plastics to toothpaste, sunscreen and cosmetics to the insides of Oreo cookies, the “M”s on M&M candies and the honey mustard sauce served at McDonald’s and Wendy’s. On food labels it often goes by the name “E171.”   read more

Scientists say they have found a way to cure newborn babies infected with HIV. In March 2013, doctors reported that a child was cured of HIV following an aggressive drug treatment implemented just 30 hours after birth. Some experts were skeptical, waiting to see if the experiment could be successfully repeated elsewhere. It was, this time in Long Beach, California Dr. Anthony Fauci said the two cases “could lead to major changes” in the treatment of children born with HIV.   read more

The power plants, transmission systems and other facets of the U.S. electricity grid have become popular targets of hackers, putting at risk America’s ability to keep everything that needs power up and running. Last year alone more than 150 cyber attacks were unleashed on the energy sector, according to a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center. The loss of power means businesses come to a stop, transportation systems shut down and financial institutions cease to facilitate commerce.   read more

The Obama administration is backing a corporate polluter in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that has implications for U.S. Marines and their families exposed to contaminated water. CTS Corporation is trying to avoid liability for pollution it caused. A victory for CTS would represent a defeat for the Lejeune parties, and the Obama administration—despite the president’s professed support for the environment and veterans—seems just fine with that outcome.   read more

The Justice Department is going after Sprint in federal court claiming the telecommunications company overcharged law enforcement agencies for wiretapping costs. It says Sprint inflated its bills to the FBI, DEA and other agencies by 58%--overcharging by $21 million--causing "significant loss to the government’s limited resources.” It claims Sprint tried to get away the overbilling by disguising it as other spying costs. Sprint denies the allegations.   read more

Solar power has grown in popularity over the past couple of years, so much so that installations of new panels and systems have outpaced the combined installs of the previous three decades. In just the last 18 months, the U.S. has set up more solar energy systems than during the prior 30 years, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Last year was particularly productive for solar developers, with installations up 41% over 2012.   read more

The first-ever commercial promoting medicinal marijuana will soon air in New Jersey, Chicago and Massachusetts on Fox, Comedy Central, CNN, ESPN, AMC, Discovery and the Food Channel. In the ad, a suspicious-looking guy works back alleys to sell sushi. At one point he thrusts opens his trenchcoat to reveal select cuts of sashimi for sale. “You wouldn’t buy your sushi from this guy,” the voiceover says. “So why would you buy your marijuana from him?”   read more

The Obama administration has levied the largest penalty ever for violations of the Clean Water Act against one of the nation’s biggest coal companies. Alpha Natural Resources will pay a $27.5 million penalty for causing pollution in five states, and will spend $200 million to reduce pollution coming out of its coalmines. In many of its 6,000 violations, Alpha failed to properly operate water treatment systems or even install them to prevent pollutants from entering waterways.   read more