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 failing to convince Congress to lower the cap to $200,000, the White House now is calling for a ceiling of $400,000. That is the equivalent of the president’s salary, and the plan is to tie contractors’ annual earnings to that. So when the president gets a raise, contractors’ compensation cap will rise accordingly. In the meantime, federal workers are in the third year of a basic pay rate freeze, which is in addition to wage reductions brought on by budget cuts and unpaid furlough days.   read more

Former political advisers Robert Gibbs, Jim Messina and David Plouffe received five-figure checks to speak at a forum in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, which is trying to win news friends in Washington. Messina, who was Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, has started his own consulting firm that will count “Team Obama” as its primary client.   read more

The short answer—that overseas utilities are buying the wood to burn in their power plants as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—naturally raises the question of whether that is a good idea or not. As environmentalists try to block the growth of this transatlantic trade in American wood-fuel, others argue that wood-burning, like expanded use of natural gas, can be a temporary alternative to burning oil or coal until new technology allows a shift to zero or near-zero carbon emissions.   read more

Johnson became president of Progress Energy in 2005, and worked as chairman and CEO from 2007 to 2012, when the company was bought by Duke Energy. Although the Duke-Progress Energy merger agreement named Johnson CEO of the new combined company, the new corporate board, dominated by Duke Energy members, fired him less than an hour after the merger closed, allowing him to walk away with a $44 million severance payment for one hour's work. He had been paid $9.5 million by Progress in 2011.   read more

As for young Mr. Mahankali, he has never even eaten a knaidel, a culinary lapse likely soon to be remedied, given the many offers he has already received. But will it be kosher or kashrut? And here’s a tip for aspiring spelling champions: the plural of knaidel is knaidlach. Or is it knaidelach?   read more

The standards were written by education officials from various states, including those with Republican governors. Supporters include individuals and organizations on the right, such as Rupert Murdoch, Jeb Bush and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which promotes conservative policies. And yet, Tea Party groups have protested the standards. They claim the multi-billion-dollar program would result in federal control of education across the country.   read more

The poll found 77% feel there is less religious influence today in America. Another 20% said religion is gaining influence. The 77% figure was the most negative evaluation of religion’s impact since 1970. About the same number of Americans (75%) told Gallup that the country would be better off if it were more religious.   read more

The premise of Webb’s 1996 three-part exposé, “Dark Alliance The Story behind the Crack Explosion,” was that the explosion of crack-cocaine in America’s ghettos was indirectly abetted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The chief source of drugs for the number one street distributor was a Nicaraguan exile connected to the right-wing, CIA-backed Contras, who were fighting to overthrow that country’s leftist Sandinista-led government.   read more

A local judge in Dallas has ordered a lesbian couple to stop living together, citing a “morality clause” from one of the women’s divorce papers. The clause states that someone who has a “dating or intimate relationship” with the person or is not related “by blood or marriage” is not allowed in the home after 9 p.m. when the children are present.   read more

Thompson worked at the Census Bureau from 1975 to 2002. Leaving government service for the private sector in 2002, he joined the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, serving as executive vice president from 2002 to 2008, and as president and CEO since 2008.   read more

Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed immigrants’ contributions to the area of Medicare that covers hospital care and found they generated surpluses totaling $115 billion from 2002 to 2009. In comparison, native-born citizens used more in benefits than they paid into Medicare, creating a deficit of $28 billion over the same period.   read more

The U.S. Army sent out a request to contractors for proposals for a radio program that would convince rebel forces in Colombia to put down their weapons. Interested companies must explain how they will produce 20 radio novela episodes in Spanish and regional dialects for use by the Army’s Military Information Support Operations in Colombia.   read more

Drug-resistant superbugs are invading hospitals, killing about 100,000 patients and costing $30 billion a year. One way to combat them is for nurses, doctors and other hospital personnel to wash their hands regularly. Yet, without encouragement, hospital workers clean their hands as little as 30% of the time they interact with patients.   read more

In New Jersey, prisoners are not eligible for unemployment, welfare and other benefits under state rules. Yet, in a 22-month period recently, nearly $24 million was given to prisoners due to a lack of adequate internal controls.   read more

Women are now the primary breadwinners in nearly half of all U.S. households. About 40% of homes with children under 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau and polling data. The rate is the highest on record—four times that in 1960.   read more

Chinese hackers have successfully accessed classified information about U.S. weapons programs, including those that play key roles in the military’s anti-missile systems.   read more