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 groups said they documented 19 coalition attacks involving internationally banned cluster munitions, including in civilian areas. The rights groups argued that if Saudi Arabia is found guilty of war crimes, the U.S. could be complicit because it provides airstrike targeting information as part of its support for the Saudi-led coalition. A U.S. State Department spokesman would not comment on allegations of potential U.S. complicity in war crimes in Yemen.   read more

Financial inequality became even wider in the U.S. last year, with average income for the top 1% surging 7.7% to $1.36 million. Income for the richest sliver rose twice as fast as it did for the remaining 99%. Income inequality has been a rallying cry of the 2016 election, with more Americans turning angry about a shrinking middle class. Donald Trump has pledged to restore prosperity by ripping up trade deals and Hillary Clinton has backed a debt-free college option and higher minimum wages.   read more

The United Arab Emirates warned its citizens on Sunday to avoid wearing traditional clothing when traveling abroad, apparently in response to an episode in Ohio last week in which a businessman from Abu Dhabi, dressed in robes and a head scarf, was confronted by the police at gunpoint because a hotel clerk thought he might be a terrorist. Police videos showed officers drawing and cocking rifles. One officer could be heard saying, “There he is!” Another shouted, “Get on the ground!”   read more

Where a hospital is located and who owns it make a big difference in how many of its doctors take meals, consulting and promotional payments from pharmaceutical and medical device companies. A higher percentage of doctors in the South have received such payments than doctors in other regions of the country. Doctors in New Jersey, home to many of the largest drug companies, led the country in industry interactions: Nearly eight in 10 doctors took payments in 2014.   read more

The law sought to protect three beliefs: That marriage is only between a man and a woman; that sex should only take place in such a marriage; and that a person's gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered. It would extend protections to merchants who refuse services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. Reeves said the law violates the Constitution's equal protection clause by authorizing "arbitrary discrimination against lesbian, gay, transgender, and unmarried persons."   read more

Drug coupons are a clever marketing tactic increasingly used by pharmaceutical companies for a counterintuitive purpose: to keep drug prices high. By forgoing or reducing patients’ payments for pricier brand-name drugs, they ensure more sales for which insurers foot the bulk of the bill. In essence, it’s a war between two big industries trying to maximize their bottom lines: insurers vs. drug manufacturers. Patients, who often have no clue which drug is best, are stuck in the middle.   read more

Last year was the deadliest driving year since 2008, when 37,423 people were killed. It was also the year in which American drove 3.1 trillion miles, more than ever before. The information comes as tens of millions of Americans were hitting the road for the Fourth of July holiday, one of the busiest and deadliest days on the year on the nation's roadways. If people drove more slowly and buckled up, said Rader, "the increases we're seeing now wouldn't be as large."   read more

"The history of voter disqualification has disturbing features," Appel wrote in his dissent. "In southern states after reconstruction, voter disqualification on the grounds of being convicted of infamous crimes was used as a tool to prevent African Americans from voting.'" Voting restrictions for ex-felons has a disproportionate effect on black citizens throughout the U.S., including Iowa, where Appel says African-American disenfranchisement is "more than triple the national rate."   read more

Most Americans can sense the increase anecdotally given the ubiquity of smartphones. People stare at screens while waiting in line for fast food, riding in elevators or walking down the street. Retail outlets post signs pleading that phones be turned off. People check messages in bed before falling asleep, and reach for the devices upon waking up. An estimated 81% of American adults use a smartphone regularly. "I feel like I would be lost without it," Girao said. "My whole life is on it."   read more

Dos Santos took his first ambassadorial post in 1996 as his country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. While there, he was named secretary general of a convention to ban landmines, an issue close to his heart because of the millions of mines planted in Mozambique during the civil war. He also worked to stop small arms proliferation, another vital issue in his country.   read more

The White House is to disclose the casualties with numbers indicating an estimated 100 civilians have been inadvertently killed by 500 drone strikes since 2009. Reprieve claims Obama's previous drone statements have been proven false even by the U.S. government's own internal documents. "But more importantly, it has to be asked what bare numbers will mean if they omit even basic details such as the names of those killed and the areas, even the countries, they live in," said Reprieve.   read more

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined other Vermont leaders Friday to celebrate the state's newly implemented law requiring labels on genetically modified food. Sanders sharply criticized the compromise bill in Congress that called for less stringent regulations. "Perhaps most shockingly...this bill imposes no penalties whatsoever for violating the labeling requirement, making the legislation essentially meaningless," Sanders said.   read more

The car's cameras failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and didn't automatically activate its brakes. The technology relies on multiple cameras, radar, laser and computers to sense objects and determine if they are in the car's way. Systems like Tesla's "aren't sophisticated enough to overcome blindness from bright or low contrast light," said Harley. He noted that more deaths can be expected as the autonomous technology is refined.   read more

Politicians in Iceland, Australia, Britain and Scotland have received such missives. Sir Roger Gale appealed to the speaker of the British House of Commons on Tuesday to block Trump's campaign appeals. "Members of Parliament are being bombarded with electronic communications from Team Trump on behalf of somebody called Donald Trump," said Gale. "I am all in favor of free speech, but I do not see why colleagues on either side of the House should be subjected to intemperate spam."   read more

Hockey was made treasurer.but ran into trouble when he presented his first budget. It called for cuts to family payments, punitive measures for unemployed young people, a Medicare co-payment, removal of caps on university fees, and $80 billion (Australian) in long-term cuts to health and education funding. He also announced an unpopular increase in fuel taxes. He defended the increase, saying “the poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases.”   read more

President Barack Obama signed into law Thursday measures to give the public greater access to government documents and records under the nearly half-century-old Freedom of Information Act. The new law will require federal agencies to consider releasing records under a “presumption of openness” standard, instead of presuming that the information is secret. Supporters say the shift will make it harder for agencies to withhold information.   read more