According to aides who were present when Trump discussed the issue, but who choose to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, Trump said he was sick of Vance and wanted to fire him. “I wanted him to be my attack dog,” said Trump, “but he appears foolish on television. He dropped the college football trophy. He met with Pope Francis and the next day the pope died. Vance is toxic, and I don’t want him to come near me. He just doesn’t look as good on television as I thought he would.”   read more

Colorado, New Mexico and Utah joined with the Navajo and Ute Mountain tribes — whose land is crossed by the rivers — to compile a plan to monitor the waterways. They will also test the sediment in the delta where the San Juan empties into Lake Powell. They will share their data and will train first-responders and water users about what to do in the event of a flood or other emergency. Separately, the EPA released an updated plan for its own water-quality monitoring.   read more

The sheer number of restrictions in Indiana’s legislation made it distinct. It holds doctors liable if a woman has an abortion solely because of objections to the fetus’ race, sex or a disability. It also restricts fetal tissue donation and requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital or to have an agreement with a doctor who does. Law professor Dawn Johnsen said the legislation was “a clear attempt to interfere and harm and chill doctors’ willingness to perform abortions.”   read more

The likely consequences would include killer storms stronger than any in modern times, the disintegration of large parts of the polar ice sheets, and a sea level rise sufficient to begin drowning the world’s coastal cities before the end of this century. Scientist James Hansen argues that society is in such grave peril that he feels morally compelled to sound a clear warning.“We’re in danger of handing young people a situation that’s out of their control,” he said.   read more

For the last 13 years, the NFL has stood by its research. But confidential data shows that more than 100 diagnosed concussions were omitted from the studies. The committee calculated the rates of concussions using the incomplete data, making them appear less frequent than they actually were. These discoveries raise new questions about the committee’s findings, held up by the league as scientific evidence that brain injuries did not cause long-term harm to its players.   read more

During procedures like sandblasting and fracking, large quantities of silica particles can be released into the air. They can lodge deep in the lung, setting off processes that can lead to lung cancer as well as kidney disease, in addition to silicosis. Companies will be required, among other measures, to keep records of employee exposure to silica and to provide a medical exam every three years to each worker whose level of exposure is high enough to require wearing a protective respirator.   read more

In a complaint filed in federal court on Tuesday, the Gila River Indian Community claims the department owes them for health care provided to veterans going back to March 2010. Under Obama's health care law, the VA must reimburse Indian tribes for health care services to veterans who seek care from tribal clinics or hospitals instead of a VA facility. Gila officials say they have tried for years to negotiate with the VA and even sent a delegation to meet with officials in Washington, D.C.   read more

Before joining the State Dept in 1990, Sterling worked in New York City as a liaison officer in the mayor’s office to the U.N. and consular corps. His first Foreign Service posting was in Peru. In 1993, Sterling was sent to Belgium, but returned to the U.S. in 1995 to be a desk officer for Central Asian affairs, a region he would focus on through much of his career. Sterling was assigned in 1998 as a political officer in Kazakhstan, then in 2001 took a similar post in Tel Aviv, Israel.   read more

The panel concluded that disregard for poor and minority people contributed to the government’s slow response to complaints from residents of Flint about the foul water that was making them sick. The crisis “is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice," said the report. “I could not imagine this happening in an affluent community that was not a majority-minority community and the same reaction occurring," said Rep. Dan Kildee.   read more

The report found that unfounded frisks were highest last year for people of color: 62% of all frisks of Latinos, 57% for blacks, and 47% for whites. Further, blacks who were frisked were nearly 3% less likely to have guns or drugs than whites. ACLU-Pennsylvania executive director Reggie Shuford said that "communities of color" are targeted disproportionately by police and that "they are understandably fed up and demand an immediate stop to being treated like second-class citizens."   read more

A team of researchers has found a remarkable parallel to one of evolution’s signature events. In a cave in Thailand, they’ve discovered that a blind fish walks the way land vertebrates do. The waterfall-climbing cave fish has even evolved many of the skeletal features that our ancestors did for walking, including a full-blown pelvis. “I was completely blown away,” said biomechanics expert Brooke Flammang. “These guys seemed to be very leisurely walking up the rock face."   read more

Deputies say Jackson was turned away at the Pompano Beach auto dealership after trying to buy the $60,000 car using his EBT card and a credit card. However, deputies say the suspect returned the next night and stole the car along with keys from 60 other vehicles.   read more

Energy prices and the perceived abundance of energy sources seem to be the most relevant factors in attitudes toward nuclear power, rather than safety concerns prompted by nuclear incidents. Lower gas prices over the past year are likely driving greater opposition toward the use of nuclear power. As Americans have paid less at the pump, their level of worry about the nation's energy situation has dropped to 15-year-low levels.   read more

Phoenix residents have for years felt that state leaders want to make it harder for them to vote, and the mess at the polls Tuesday only heightened their frustration. "Let's be clear — voter suppression happened," said U.S. Rep. Gallego. He said Arizona has a long history of voter suppression, including a new law that blocks voter-outreach groups from handling early ballots. Limiting the number of polling locations disproportionately affects minorities and the working poor, he added.   read more

A government attorney told a federal judge Thursday that appointing attorneys for all children facing deportation would "destroy the framework of the immigration system." An ACLU rep responded, "Every individual in removal hearings is entitled to a full and fair hearing," adding that a child can't get a "fair hearing" without being properly represented by an attorney. The ACLU sued the government in 2014 claiming the only way children can get a fair hearing is to provide them with counsel.   read more

One mine has shut down amid a wave of coal bankruptcies and slowdowns, and another has announced that it will go dark. The closings added to a landscape of layoffs and economic woes concussing mining-dependent towns from West Virginia to Wyoming. And as Hotchkiss searches for a new economic lifeline, some people are asking: What about marijuana? “If we could get it legalized right now, we could create some jobs, and we need the tax revenue,” said town trustee Thomas Wills.   read more

“Sir, I don’t know how to tell you this,” the officer began. Meyers had a 2002 warrant out for his arrest for failing to return a VHS movie rental of “Freddy Got Fingered.” The officer let Meyers go and told him to show up later at the police station, where officers took him to a magistrate’s office, patted him down and put him in handcuffs. The story of Meyers’ ordeal has gained wide attention, spreading from a YouTube video he posted to ricocheting around the world on social media.   read more