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

In January 2008, Negodić was appointed head of Bosnia’s mission to the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. During her tenure, Bosnia signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU on June 16, 2008, which set Bosnia on the road toward EU membership. She returned to London in December 2008 to serve as ambassador to the UK until 2012.   read more

In early 2010, Razāns was nominated to be foreign minister, but withdrew his name in April, the day before Latvia’s parliament was set to approve the appointment, citing “personal family problems.” It was rumored that Latvian President Valdim Zatlers objected to his nomination. Instead, Razāns served as political director and undersecretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry from February 2010 to July 2012.   read more

Citing cost concerns, Senate Republicans this week blocked legislation designed to create a Veterans Job Corps that would have spent $1 billion over five years to put unemployed veterans back to work. The Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012, loosely based on the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, would have put ex-soldiers to work preserving and restoring federal, state and local lands and find them jobs in firefighting and police work.   read more

The Americans, 22 Central Intelligence Agency spies and one Air Force officer (Lt. Col. Joseph Romano), were convicted last year of helping abduct Abu Omar (Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr) from Milan in February 2003. The cleric was transferred to U.S. military bases in Italy and Germany and eventually shipped to Egypt, where he says he was tortured.   read more

Richard H. Perkins, a reliability and risk engineer with the NRC’s division of risk analysis, said superiors blacked out critical portions of a report he helped author that detailed which nuclear plants face the risk of flooding from swollen rivers or reservoirs. Perkins’ assertions were backed up by another anonymous NRC risk engineer who warned that the three reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca, South Carolina, could face a Fukushima-like episode should a nearby dam fail.   read more

Hicks and others noticed that a safety relief valve had lifted, causing a leakage of coolant. Following federal regulations, he says he ordered the reactor shut down to avoid an accident similar to the 1979 Three Mile Island incident in Middletown, Pennsylvania. Hicks reported what he had done to his superiors, including FPL executive vice president Manoochehr Nazar, who ordered Hicks to restart the reactor. Hicks refused.   read more

By the time the film had been uploaded to YouTube, the title had been changed to The Innocence of Muslims and Garcia, playing the mother of a 12-year-old girl who is to marry the prophet, is seen uttering the lines: “Is your Muhammad a child molester? Our daughter is but a child, and he’s 55 years old.” Garcia says she never said the name Mohammed while shooting the video.   read more

Some of the programs are what are known as “submerged policies” that get little attention, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit; the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction; and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits. However even in the case of high-profile programs, many beneficiaries were unaware that they were using a government program. For example, 45% of Americans enrolled in Social Security replied that they did not benefit from a government program, as did 41% who qualified for Medicare.   read more

In order to avoid disclosure, Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by billionaire David Koch, and Crossroads GPS, which was formed by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, reorganized as nonprofit social welfare organizations, which are not allowed to concentrate on political advocacy a(but do so anyway), but do not have to reveal the names of their donors. The new ruling eliminates the need for this charade.   read more

Scientists who worked on the study addressed Tester’s complaint directly, arguing that no one had actually done long-term studies of GMOs. Antoniou said the findings highlighted the “need to test all GM crops in two-year lifelong studies.” Genetic engineering has come under fire from critics for years or what they perceive is industry bias in scientific studies and the lack of long-term studies.   read more

Their data revealed that children and teenagers with the highest levels of BPA had a 2.6 times greater chance of being obese than those with the lowest levels. Trasande said aluminum cans containing BPA are an especially important problem that needs to be addressed, adding “the majority of BPA exposure” comes from these types of containers.   read more

Containing americium-241/beryllium (Am-241), the rod disappeared while company three employees were transporting it between sites near Odessa and Pecos. The rods are lowered into wells to identify the best spots to break apart rock in the process known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. A lock on the container holding the rod is also missing.   read more

Only 42% of company employees age 25-64 participate in a pension plan in their current job, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. This is a fall from 50% in 1979. The implication that 58% of private sector workers don’t have pension plans is that this mass of people must rely entirely on Social Security once they retire.   read more

Forrest refused to consider the motion last Friday, and said she would review the matter on September 19, following the conclusion of the Jewish New Year. Unwilling to wait, the Justice Department asked another judge, Raymond Lohier, to stay Forrest’s decision. Lohier, who, like Forrest, was appointed by President Barack Obama, sided with the administration and blocked the ruling. Administration lawyers contended that Forrest’s ban on the new law could imperil the country’s security.   read more

As a result of import tariffs and agricultural loans authorized by Congress, inflated sugar prices have forced Americans to spend $2.4 billion more each year on food containing the sweet ingredient, with sugar producers gaining $1.4 billion in benefits. The sugar industry gets its way through substantial donations to lawmakers. This election cycle alone, sugar farmers have contributed $3.6 million to campaigns, which is more than what Big Tobacco has donated ($2.8 million).   read more

The switch to ocean routes began after President George W. Bush signed the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which called for beefing up physical barriers in the Southwest near the border. Federal agents say apprehensions along the Pacific Ocean have tripled since 2008, with boat captures occurring from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. A few immigrants have even tried to swim from Baja to the California coastline.   read more