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

More than half of all drug-related arrests in the U.S. last year involved marijuana, prompting advocates for the legalization of the controlled substance to complain that the war on drugs is largely driven by “minor” offenses.   Law enforcemen...   read more

Seismologists around the world are closely watching an unprecedented legal case in Italy that is threatening to indict their entire profession.   On trial are seven scientists and other experts accused of manslaughter for allegedly failing to ...   read more

Officials in the Department of Defense are frustrated over the continued use of National Guard troops to police the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a new government report.   There are currently 1,140 Guardsmen patrolling the border. Abo...   read more

Most Americans probably don’t know what europium oxide is. But they surely know one of the consumer products it’s widely used in: compact fluorescent light bulbs.   They also may have noticed just how expensive these light bulbs have become, a...   read more

The difference between foreign policy and U.S. law has been on full display for about 4,000 immigrants trapped in limbo by an American government that can’t agree with itself.   For those who fought against Saddam Hussein while he ruled Iraq, ...   read more

What consumers call “buying in bulk” the U.S. government calls “strategic sourcing.”   Beginning this week, some of Washington’s largest agencies and departments will join together to buy office printers, copiers and scanners with the intentio...   read more

Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd loves his Vegemite, but enjoying it in the United States has become a challenge.   On Sunday, Rudd had to convince American customs inspectors at a New York City airport not to confiscate his Vegemite, a...   read more

Mary Schapiro, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has hired a lawyer to guide her through an investigation into her agency’s signing a half-billion-dollar office lease it could not afford.   The $557 million lease “grossly ...   read more

This year’s annual International Day of Peace won’t be marred by an American missile launch after all.   Last month, when the U.S. Air Force announced plans to conduct another Minuteman 3 missile test off the coast of California on September 2...   read more

A study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has concluded that sufferers of Gulf War Syndrome have noticeable abnormalities in their brains’ blood flow. The researchers also discovered that for many veterans, the circulatory...   read more

Congress has begun considering the issue of whether the U.S. military has too many high-ranking officers for a shrinking enlisted corps.   There are 964 flag and general officers in the armed services today, compared to 1,017 when the Cold War...   read more

Attorney and lobbyist Mark Brzezinski was nominated on September 6, 2011, by President Barack Obama to be the next U.S. ambassador to Sweden, replacing Matthew Barzun, who was one of Obama’s biggest campaign bundlers during the 2008 presidential c...   read more

United States law demands that the government limit the amount of executive salaries earned by companies with federal contracts. But the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy has not set the limit for fiscal year...   read more

For the second time in 11 years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered television networks to provide audio descriptions of actions on screen to assist blind and visually impaired viewers.   The FCC issued similar rules in 20...   read more

The end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has impacted not only the soldiers of today, but those who served nearly 70 years ago.   In 1944, Melvin Dwork was kicked out of the U.S. Navy for being gay (apparently turned in by his boyfriend at the time ...   read more

Career diplomat Lisa J. Kubiske received her first chance to become an ambassador on July 26, 2011, when she was sworn in as ambassador to Honduras.   Born Lisa Shapiro, Kubiske attended college at Brandeis University, where during her junior ...   read more