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

Now word has filtered out of the area that seventeen Sudanese poachers, in search of ivory, have swooped into the area, driven out the researchers and, as of last night, begun slaughtering the elephants at Dzanga Bai. This is a sickening development. Not only are wild elephants one of the earth’s treasures, but the sort of people who would shoot them to death are just one step away from turning their weapons on the Pygmies and others who either stand in their way.   read more

After reviewing the court cases, researchers ranked 35 justices who served on the court during the span in question. The ranking revealed that five of the current court’s members made the top nine most likely to vote in favor of business interests since the mid-1940s. Samuel Alito placed first, Roberts second, Clarence Thomas fifth, Anthony Kennedy sixth and Antonin Scalia ninth.   read more

The most common toxic chemicals were cobalt and cobalt compounds (1,228 products), ethylene glycol (1,066 products), and antimony and antimony compounds (525 products) and methyl ethyl ketone (469 products). Cobalt is used in plastic building blocks and baby bibs; ethylene glycol in dolls; antimony in high chairs and booster seats; and methyl ethyl ketone in clothing.   read more

Apple’s tax savings occurred when it borrowed money to finance a $55 billion stock buyback instead of spending some of the $100 billion it has off-shored in foreign accounts, which would have had to be repatriated and opened the way for the Internal Revenue Service to send Apple a $9.2 billion tax bill.   read more

The UN representatives singled out for concern low-wage agricultural workers and harmful practices by the mining industry, among other problems. They cited employee complaints about being paid less than minimum wage, as well as “chronic disregard” for health and safety measures, including the destructive practices of strip mining and “mountaintop removal” by the coal industry.   read more

Because dogs aren’t very good at inhaling smoke, the doctor primarily recommends precise applications of pot via a glycerin tincture. But he also says marijuana can be made into butter or oil and used to cook or bake a range of foods, including dog biscuits. He strongly discourages people from blowing smoke in their pet’s face to get them high, which he calls “animal abuse.”   read more

“Nullification” says states don’t have to listen to Congress, or the U.S. Supreme Court, on laws state governments deem unconstitutional. In South Carolina, a nullification bill deems President Barack Obama’s health care reform law “null and void.” It criminalizes its implementation, and allows the state attorney general “to restrain” any person who is believed to be causing harm with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.   read more

\Meals on Wheels (MOW) saves money by helping clients live at home instead of in more expensive nursing homes. As MOW clients tend to be poor, their nursing home bills are paid by Medicaid, at an average annual cost of $57,878. When seniors receive home care, in contrast, the cost to Medicaid is about $15,371 per year, or $42,507 less than nursing home care.   read more

In December 2011, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, blocked the sale of the drug to young girls without a prescription, presumably because of a lack of data proving it would be safe. Many saw this decision merely as a political move by the Obama administration to protect vulnerable Democratic candidates in an election year.   read more

There are several theories as to why the 86 cleared prisoners have not been released. For some, returning to their native countries would expose them to retaliation by their governments. For others, such as those from Yemen, the Obama administration may feel that the political situation there is too volatile, and the released prisoners might join terrorist groups, either voluntarily or involuntarily.   read more

Colorado-based Energy Fuels Resources, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Energy Fuels, Inc. (2012 revenues: $25 billion), argues that the January 2012 Obama administration policy barred only new claims on the one million acres surrounding the park. Because the company's “Old Canyon mine” received regulatory approval and opened in the 1980s, Energy Fuels persuaded the U.S. Forest Service to approve the mine’s re-opening based on environmental and other regulatory approvals issued in 1986.   read more

Next time you grumble about the high price of gasoline, consider this surprising fact: The U.S. is awash in a glut of crude oil, with inventories at their highest level since the government began keeping monthly data in 1931. Although the price of crude oil is down, consumers should not expect much of a price cut at the gas pump, thanks to continued, although slowing, demand worldwide and the effects of speculation.   read more

The largest increases occurred in the Baby Boom generation. For men in this cohort, the suicide rate jumped 50% among those in their 50s. Among women age 60-64, the rate soared even higher, by 60%. Easy access to prescription painkillers may have played a role as well. However, suicides by hanging saw the highest increase (81%), and most suicides are still committed using firearms.   read more

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that as of 2011, 62% of women age 20-24 who gave birth in the previous 12 months were unmarried. This rate was considerably higher than that for women 35-39, who came in at 17%. More than half (57%) of women with less than a high school diploma in 2011 who had had a child in the past year were unmarried. In contrast, only 9% of recent mothers with a bachelor’s degree or higher were unmarried.   read more

The rock was stored in an apparently abandoned office building in San Jose, kept under armed guard at an attorney’s office in Santa Barbara, and then transferred once again to a private vault in South El Monte. The emerald was then driven to Las Vegas, where it played a supporting role in the fall of fraudster Bernard Madoff and a shady deal between some Colombians that nearly ended in bloodshed in the desert.   read more

Chesimard was eventually captured, tried and convicted in 1977 of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and other crimes. She was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey on November 2, 1979, with the help of armed visitors, and made her way to Cuba, where she resides today, according to the FBI. The FBI declared her a terrorist in 2005. She was the godmother of rapper Tupac Shakur.   read more