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

The bipartisan bill would require federal agencies to consider the release of government information under "a presumption of openness" as opposed to a presumption that the information is secret. The legislation aims to reduce the amount of exemptions the government uses to withhold information and would create a single portal through which individuals can submit a Freedom of Information Act request. The legislation was sponsored by Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy.   read more

Information technology workers continued to delete electronic data until Sept. 21, the lawsuit claims. Even after that date, they destroyed backup information because of what they said was a shortage of storage space. In addition, according to the lawsuit, outside accountants hired by Volkswagen complained that they could not get access to all the data they wanted. Donovan says he told managers in IT that they could be accused of obstructing justice, and that he did not want to take part.   read more

The decision represents a reversal of President Obama’s previous offshore drilling plans, and comes as he is trying to build an ambitious environmental legacy. It could also inject the issue into the 2016 presidential campaigns, as Republican candidates vow to expand drilling. Last January, Obama drew the wrath of environmentalists and high praise from the oil industry with his proposal that would have opened much of the southeastern Atlantic coast to offshore drilling for the first time.   read more

"This leaves CBP vulnerable to a corruption scandal that could potentially threaten the security of our nation," the panel wrote in its report. "Currently there is no one who the Secretary of Homeland Security can clearly hold accountable for seeing to it that corruption does not take root within CBP and that our national security interests at our nation's border are not compromised by corrupt CBP personnel. The CBP discipline system is broken."   read more

Smartphone virtual assistants, like Apple’s Siri, are great for finding the nearest gas station. But if someone is in distress, they often fall seriously short. Phone makers have known their devices could give potentially harmful responses that could deter victims from seeking help. “Just imagine someone who feels no one else knows what they’re going through, and to have a response that says ‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about,’ that would validate all those insecurities and fears.”   read more

The new guidance comes amid concerns that some local courts in the U.S. are punishing poor people by imposing crippling fines that can result in jail time. "The consequences of the criminalization of poverty are not only harmful — they are far-reaching," said Attorney General Lynch. A scathing federal report last year concluded that a Ferguson, Missouri court levied exorbitant fines for petty offenses and routinely issued arrest warrants to residents who had failed to settle their debts.   read more

The AP found that the firm had advocated on behalf of for-profit colleges, helped broker the purchase of Corinthian's assets and argued in a legal brief that for-profit schools had a free speech right not to inform prospective students about poor graduate employment outcomes. Also, two lawyers overseeing the new for-profit operations, Rose and Dennis Cariello, were former Education Dept officials who had worked at law firms employed by Corinthian in the months before it collapsed financially.   read more

The Indonesia that Obama lived in as a child bore fresh scars from the darkest period in that country's modern history. Shortly before Obama's arrival in 1967, hundreds of thousands of people had been killed in a bloody anti-communist purge. Now Indonesian human rights officials want Obama's help. They are requesting the declassification of secret U.S. files that could shed light on how the killings were planned and the extent that the U.S. collaborated with Indonesia's military.   read more

"Dark money" spending by outside groups that aren't required to disclose their donors is expected to explode during this presidential election year. States can take action to stem the tide but few have. Congress could require more disclosure but hasn't done so. "Unlimited secret contributions are the most dangerous money in American politics," said Wertheimer. The Citizens United ruling triggered a flood of more than $500 million in secret contributions in elections following the ruling.   read more

On Super Tuesday, Dale Clark voted for a local Republican--Mary Lou Bruner--who claimed on social media that President Obama had worked as a gay prostitute in his youth, that the U.S. should ban Islam, that the Democratic Party had John F. Kennedy killed and that the United Nations had hatched a plot to depopulate the world. “I would not discount her on the basis of having those beliefs,” said Clark, a retired pilot.   read more

Dissenting, Judge Wynn called North Carolina's decision to offer an anti-abortion plate but not a pro-choice plate, "viewpoint discrimination." The ACLU expressed disappointment that "North Carolina can now deny drivers on one side of this contentious issue an equal ability to express their views. ...The General Assembly should finally do the right thing and allow citizens on both sides of this controversial issue to purchase specialty plates supporting their views."   read more

The trademark spat that is prompting the National Park Service to change the names of treasured sites at Yosemite has taken a startling turn -- to the park's gift shops. Merchandise embossed with the name ``Yosemite National Park,'' from T-shirts to coffee mugs to pens, is being pulled from store shelves because of claims by the park's outgoing concessionaire that it owns the name for commercial purposes. Aramark officials plan to sell souvenir items with the name ``Yosemite'' instead.   read more

Amid a budget crisis that has prompted deep cuts to state agencies across the state, death penalty opponents question the wisdom of Oklahoma leaders continuing to defend an increasingly expensive and problem-plagued policy of putting people to death. "It's painful to know how much money we're spending to kill people," said Adam Leathers. "It may or may not bring some people a degree of catharsis, we don't know, but it sure seems to be costing the taxpayers a lot of money."   read more

The suit claims officials illegally deny the applications of abused refugee kids by saying they are no longer children. Last week it was revealed that a senior official in the Justice Dept said 3- and 4-year-old children can learn enough immigration law to represent themselves in court. "I've taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds," said judge Jack Weil. "It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of patience. They get it. It's not the most efficient, but it can be done."   read more

Veracode concluded that the Cruz app — downloaded to more than 70,000 Apple and Android devices so far — had used poor computer code practices and had deployed weak encryption, potentially exposing personal data because it could be intercepted by eavesdroppers. The review further determined the app could also send text messages without the user's permission. A Veracode senior project manager said poor coding practices on the app "could lead to leaked information, or even exploitation."   read more

The South Dakota Legislature approved - and the governor promptly signed - a bill outlawing abortion after the 20th week of gestation based on a belief that this is when a fetus can register pain. Doctors could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,000. The woman would not be punished. Some called the bill unnecessary. The only clinic that performs abortion in South Dakota is Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls, which will not perform abortions after the 14th week of gestation.   read more