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

“The [United] States can invest there in other ways that can actually promote other ideology among the people over there,”Ali Jaber said. “These drones are actually really helping al-Qaida attract people because they are saying, ‘look – the [United] States are killing you. Come join us so we can kill them.'” Ali Jaber said people in his area “do not know anything about the [United] States but the drones.” He says the strikes constitute extrajudicial killings in violation of international law.   read more

With the incoming Trump administration seemingly committed to deporting undocumented individuals, there is worry among immigration advocates that the identifying data collected as part of these driver license programs could be used by federal authorities looking to send people back to their home countries. ICE might have to rely on its subpoena power. Even then, states could refuse to provide the information, thereby forcing the federal government to sue for the driver data.   read more

American students have a math problem. "We're losing ground — a troubling prospect when, in today's knowledge-based economy, the best jobs can go anywhere in the world," said Education Secretary John B. King Jr. The PISA study is the latest to document that American students are underperforming their peers in several Asian nations. "Everything is just going down," said Peggy Carr, acting commissioner at the National Center for Education Statistics.   read more

Concern about police militarization ranges from the NAACP and ACLU to the libertarian Cato Institute. Prof. Kraska said there's nothing to justify most police departments having such equipment. "We don't want local police departments to be incentivized to get the types of equipment that in most cases are a better fit for the war zone," said Koch VP Ruger. Added prof. Kraska: "It just ramps up the probability that this kind of kind of high-end military hardware is going to be misapplied."   read more

Republican lawmakers effectively blocked Obama safety rules aimed at keeping tired truckers off the highway. But there's more coming down the road. American Trucking is pledging to come back next month, when Republicans are in control, and try to block state laws that require additional rest breaks for truckers beyond what federal rules require. The group says there should be one national rule on work hours for interstate truckers and that the extra breaks aren't necessary for safety.   read more

Tillerson’s stake in Russia’s energy industry could create a very blurry line between his interests as an oilman and his role as America’s leading diplomat. “As secretary of state, he would be called upon to negotiate with world leaders like Vladimir Putin,” said prof. Klare. “In these negotiations, one has to wonder what would influence the types of deals he is making. Questions arise over whether his actions would be benefiting his company or the interests of the U.S. and its allies.”   read more

Recording interrogations is a way to know whether police can be confident in the confessions that result. City officials say that 5,000 interrogations have been recorded, and that every detective bureau now has the equipment. But two judges testified that they had seen few cases in which the interrogations — as opposed to the confessions — were recorded. “One can speculate that some old-fashioned detectives may not want to have their methods on video as it might embarrass them,” said Dwyer.   read more

Deaths from synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl, rose 73 percent to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll, but posted the smallest increase. Abuse of drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed 17,536, an increase of 4 percent. "I don't think we've ever seen anything like this. Certainly not in modern times," said Robert Anderson, who oversees death statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   read more

An Energy Dept. official called the 74 questions a hit list and said Trump's team appears to be going after top scientists and employees who work on subjects ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the clean energy mission. Sen. Edward Markey sent a letter to Trump on Friday telling the president-elect that the new Trump administration would violate the law if any of the information being collected is used to punish department employees who carried out legal policy directives.   read more

Inside a book about the Quran, someone had written “lies cover to cover,” drawn a swastika and made a disparaging remark about the Prophet Muhammad. Six more books about Islam and the Quran that had been similarly defaced with racist language and imagery. Authorities say the spate of hate crimes targeting libraries, their books or patrons had rarely seen before. These crimes coincide with a recent FBI report that attacks against American Muslims surged last year.   read more

Business groups note that experts predict negative economic fallout should Trump pursue mass deportation. A study by right-leaning American Action Network found that such a plan could reduce "real GDP by $1 trillion" and cost taxpayers more than $400 billion. Public opinion appears to be on their side. One survey found that 60% of Trump backers said immigrants in the country illegally should be able to stay. A third of Trump supporters said law enforcement should deport all such immigrants.   read more

New Mexico leads the nation with a backlog of 5,000 untested evidence kits from sexual assaults. Audit officer Sarita Nair said the "heartbreaking" statistics reinforce the concerns of sex assault victims who are reluctant to come forward for fear of not being believed. "When we see a kit on a shelf and the reason is a lack of perceived victim credibility, we're just sort of reinforcing those worst fears and we're discouraging people from coming forward — and that just has to stop," she said.   read more

Soaring use of e-cigarettes among young people “is now a major public health concern,” according to the surgeon general. The report from the nation’s highest public-health authority finds that e-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youths, surpassing tobacco cigarettes. E-cigarettes, which turn nicotine into inhalable vapor, can harm developing brains of teenagers who use them and also can create harmful aerosol for people around the user.   read more

An extraordinary breach has emerged between Donald Trump and the national security establishment, with Trump mocking U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election on his behalf. The findings prompted a blistering attack against the intelligence agencies by Trump. “To have the president-elect...simply reject the fact-based narrative that the intelligence community puts together because it conflicts with his a priori assumptions — wow,” said former NSA/CIA chief Hayden.   read more

"The Obama administration is running out of time to completely suspend U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia or be forever linked to Yemen wartime atrocities," HRW's Motaparthy said. A Saudi-led coalition supported by the U.S. launched air campaigns on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, and some 3 million have been displaced. HRW said fragments of the weapons used in attacks show they were produced in the U.S.   read more

"I found the numbers astounding, the sheer volume of technology used by parents," Steyer said. "There's really a big disconnect between their own behavior and their self-perception, as well as their perception of their kids." "Yet 78% of all parents believe they are good media and technology role models for their children," said the survey. The activities include TV/video viewing; video gaming; social networking or website browsing, and any other task on a computer, smartphone or tablet.   read more