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 researchers found that after 1972, when much of the truth behind Tuskegee was revealed, mistrust among African-Americans toward the medical profession spiked. They found that use of the health care system fell, and that mortality increased years later. They hypothesized that each factor led to the next: The news caused African-Americans to doubt the health care profession was interested in their well-being, they stopped going to the doctor, and this led to earlier deaths.   read more

Justice Sotomayor delivered a fiery dissent: "It is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims of this type of scrutiny. This case tells everyone, white and black, guilty and innocent, that an officer can verify your legal status at any time. It says that your body is subject to invasion while courts excuse the violation of your rights. It implies that you are not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged.”   read more

Physicians who received meals related to Crestor on four or more days prescribed the drug at almost twice the rate of doctors who received no meals. The difference was even more marked for the other drugs. Physicians who received meals prescribed Bystolic at more than 5 times the rate of their uncompensated peers, and Benicar at a rate 4.5 times higher. Steinbrook wrote, "Outright gifts, such as meals, may be legal, but why should physicians either expect or accept them?”   read more

It was one of the biggest nuclear accidents in history, and the U.S. wanted it cleaned up quickly and quietly. The Air Force told the men sent to clean up the spilled radioactive material: “Don’t worry.” “There was no talk about radiation...” said Frank Thompson, who spent days searching the contaminated fields. “They told us it was safe, and we were dumb enough, I guess, to believe them.” Thompson now has cancer in his liver, lung and kidney. Yet the Air Force still insists it was safe.   read more

Organizers said 65,000 people had attended the protest. That would make it the largest demonstration since 1995, when two American Marines and a Navy sailor were arrested over the rape of a 12-year-old girl, an episode that shook the tight military alliance between the United States and Japan and is still bitterly remembered by many Okinawans. “Vicious crimes cannot be tolerated,” the governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, said at the rally.   read more

To comply with the ruling and obtain a license, Ms. Granatelli would have to spend about $250,000 over four years at an accredited school. Over the years, states across the country have added licensing requirements for a bewildering variety of jobs, requiring months or years of expensive education, along with assessing costly fees. Today, nearly 30% of the American work force needs a license to work, up from about 10% in the 1970s, according to Professor Kleiner, who has studied the issue.   read more

Even before the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were already the most likely targets of hate crimes in America, reports the FBI. LGBT people are twice as likely to be targeted as African-Americans, and the rate of hate crimes against them has surpassed that of crimes against Jews. There is a long history of not being treated with respect by law enforcement, social service agencies and the legal system, said Roger Coggan.   read more

Afghans feel less secure than at any recent time as Afghan battlefield deaths continue to escalate and civilian casualties hit a record high. Afghan civilian casualties in 2015 hit the highest level since the U.N. group began systematic documentation in 2009. "As fighting and suicide attacks have increased in more populated areas, the number of women and children included among the civilian casualties has also increased," the report said.   read more

The justices sided with Kingdomware Technologies Inc., a veteran-owned contractor based in Maryland that said it should have been considered to provide services for a VA medical center. The case is important to veterans groups that claimed the VA was wrongly interpreting bidding requirements in a way that deprived thousands of small companies owned by veterans. Those companies want a slice of the billions of dollars in contracts the VA awards every year.   read more

The hackers were turned loose on five public Pentagon internet pages and were offered various bounties if they could find unique vulnerabilities. The Pentagon says 1,410 hackers participated in the challenge and the first gap was identified just 13 minutes after the hunt began. One of the hackers was David Dworken, who just graduated from high school. He said he worked on the program during his free time, logging in between homework assignments.   read more

Since New York attorney general Schneiderman announced the first investigation of Exxon Mobil over its past research statements about climate change, nearly 20 other state attorneys general have voiced their support. But Exxon has been pushing back, fighting subpoenas and winning the support of lawmakers and friendly state attorneys. Schneiderman called the pushback from the company and its supporters “First Amendment opportunism.”   read more

In a dissenting opinion, Alcala challenged the court's rejection that "evolving standards of decency" show the death penalty to be deemed unconstitutional. "In my view, the Texas scheme has some serious deficiencies that have, in the past, caused me great concern about this form of punishment as it exists in Texas today," she wrote. "Given...the history of racial discrimination in this country, I have no doubt that race has been an improper consideration in particular death-penalty cases..."   read more

Congress adopted the law amid frustration by lawmakers of both parties, who said the VA was too slow to fire employees for wrongdoing. Lawmakers were incensed that veterans on secret waiting lists faced scheduling delays of up to a year. As many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA hospital. "Everyone knows VA isn't very good at disciplining employees, but this decision calls into question whether department leaders are even interested in doing so," said Rep. Jeff Miller.   read more

All seniors would get better protection from extremely high costs, but some may have to spend more. It would raise costs by about $1,000 for some beneficiaries who land in the widely loathed coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole." And MedPAC also proposed restructuring modest copayments that low-income beneficiaries may face, in order to encourage greater use of generic and preferred brand name drugs. Insurance companies aren't likely to be pleased.   read more

Mayor Kenney took a different tack from that of politicians who have tried and failed to pass sugary-drink taxes. He didn’t talk about the tax as a measure designed to discourage sugar-saturated soft drinks. And he didn’t promise to earmark the proceeds for health programs. Instead, he cast the soft drink industry as a revenue source that could be tapped to fund popular city programs. “This is the beginning of a process of changing the narrative of poverty in our city,” he said.   read more

Balumuene served in 2000 as diplomatic and administrative assistant to the deputy commissioner general of the Government for MONUC Affairs, in charge of finance, logistics and foreign policy for the UN peacekeeping effort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Later that year, he was made chargé d’affaires at the embassy to South Africa in Pretoria. In 2003, Balumuene was sent to India as his country’s ambassador. He then became dean of New Delhi’s diplomatic corps.   read more