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

“Fake news” as shorthand will almost surely be returned upon the media tenfold. The fake news narrative has already begun to encompass not just fabricated stories, but a wider swath of traditional media. Fox News? Fake news. Trump’s misleading claims about Ford keeping jobs in America? Fake news. This wide formulation of “fake news” will be applied back to the traditional news media, which does not yet understand how threatened its ability is to declare things true, even when they are.   read more

“The president-elect talked during the campaign about the movement that he had built,” said de Blasio. “Now, it’s our turn to build a movement — a movement of the majority that believes in respect and dignity for all.” Cuomo said he would create a new unit of the State Police to investigate hate crimes, move to expand state human rights law and seek new funds to provide legal representation to immigrants.   read more

The rate of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in adults aged 65 and up dropped to about 9% in 2012 from nearly 12% in 2000. NIA's John Haaga said dementia rates would have to decline much more sharply than they have to counteract that trend. Dementia was most common in the oldest adults. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that about 5 million people aged 65 and older have Alzheimer's, and that is expected to rise to almost 14 million by 2050.   read more

"Trump wants to deport 11 million people, and the easiest ones would be us because they already have our information,'' said 23-year-old Paola, who arrived in the U.S. at age 2. ``We need to protect these people,'' said Rep. Chu. "...or risk losing the trust of the most vulnerable in this country.'' Johnson said "it would be an unprecedented moment in U.S. immigration history to use.. voluntarily given information...for a relief program and turn it around to try to engage in mass deportations.''   read more

A 2011 federal survey of 10 jurisdictions that used field tests found just two provided any kind of formal training. At least 100,000 convictions a year rely on field-test results to identify illegal drugs. Much of that evidence is never confirmed by a certified lab. Of all material suspected of being meth in 2015, 21% proved not to be. “Police officers aren’t chemists,” McClelland said. “We shouldn’t be doing field tests on the hood of patrol cars.”   read more

Magal has built high-tech walls along Israel's volatile borders, as well as a high-tech barrier separating the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip from Israel. Its products include cameras, sophisticated sensors, robots and software to operate the systems. Despite a mixed record of profitability and a historically volatile stock, the company's shares have surged on the Nasdaq Stock Market since Donald Trump was elected president on Nov. 8. "For sure this will be a mega project," said CEO Koursh.   read more

If and when the nation warms another 4.5 degrees, expect there to be around 15 heat records for every cold one, the new study in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicts. That warming can be as early as 50 years from now if greenhouse gas emissions — from the burning of coal, oil and gas — continue at their recent pace or a century away if carbon pollution slows down, said study lead author Gerald Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.   read more

Stoytchev was back in Washington in 2008 as deputy chief of mission in the embassy. He remained there until 2011, serving as chargé d’affaires from 2009 to 2010. Beginning in 2012, Stoytchev served as foreign policy secretary to Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev until being tapped as ambassador to the U.S. Stoytchev said one of his major goals is to get his country added to the U.S. visa waiver program, which would facilitate travel by Bulgarians.   read more

Aides to Trump have signaled he'll look for a quick exit from the U.S. commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Of all the climate policies he has promised to undo, auto emissions standards could be the most consequential. The sheer volume of auto emissions has made the goals introduced by President Obama, intended to reduce auto pollution, one of the single biggest steps any nation has taken to fight global warming. Those targets are now likely to be scaled back or even scrapped.   read more

Was it a hidden racist vote? Could more than 1 million people in Colorado really be in favor of keeping a slavery loophole? “It just shouldn’t be a Colorado value,” said activist William Dickerson. “It shouldn’t be in the bedrock of our founding document, both on the state level and on the national level.” Those bewildered by the vote say the explanation may be simple: Voters say they were disoriented by a mouthful of a ballot question, leaving them unsure what “yes” and “no” actually meant.   read more

"I think a lot of Americans would be very nervous to learn Donald Trump has access to our phone records,'' said Elizabeth Goitein of Pompeo's desire to reinstate the collection of Americans' phone data. "It would make a lot of Congress nervous as well.'' Prof. Freiwald said Pompeo will have leeway to interpret the law broadly so they may collect vast amounts of information. Pompeo is promoting the discredited view that it is always good for a government to collect more data on its people.   read more

Eight children asked a judge to find Washington in contempt. "The most concerning thing to me is that our planet will be destroyed and I would have done nothing about it," said Aji Piper, 16. "We're bringing this case because we need to have a stronger voice and right now that's through the legal system." Gabe Mandell, 14, added: "This is the world I'm going to have to grow up in. Ecology has a mandate to protect our future and they're not doing it. They're not doing their job..."   read more

Pierre had helped to unite Mexico’s bishops and establish better links between the church and its followers. His posting to Washington was made upon the retirement of Nuncio Vigano, who had blindsided Pope Francis by setting up a meeting with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who broke the law by refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Pierre is seen as a good fit for the job because his experience in Mexico is considered helpful, given the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.   read more

Canjura’s background is in medicine, not diplomacy. She was ambassador to Guatemala from 2009 to 2012. She was then made ambassador to Russia, where she helped open El Salvador’s embassy. She was also credentialed to Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Canjura was in Moscow until being moved to Washington.   read more

Phillips-Spencer spent much of his career working in close proximity to Trinidad and Tobago’s presidents. When he returned there in 2011, he was named commanding officer of the army. In 2013, he was made vice chief of the defense force and was thought to be in line to be chief. However, when the incumbent chief retired, Phillips-Spencer was passed over and a few months later was sent to Washington as ambassador.   read more

There could be big money ahead for the private prison industry. A day after the election, stock market shares for the nation's top prison firm jumped by 43%. "They're handing the keys to a deportation machine over to the Trump administration," Libal said. "And I think there's no reason to believe that [it] won't drive that machine forward through human rights...or due process protections in the detention system." A federal audit said private prisons have more problems than government lockups.   read more