Pompeo has called for harsher treatment of suspected terrorists and opposed Obama’s Iran deal to limit its nuclear capability. On NSA monitoring of Americans’ communications, Pompeo said, “I believe that program has proven to be a very valuable asset for the intelligence community and for law enforcement.” He praised tech firms for complying with government surveillance requests. He also suggested that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden be given the death penalty.   read more

U.S. college admissions officials are worried that Trump’s election could portend a decline in international candidates. Such a disruption could be particularly worrisome for universities who balance their books with income from international students, who generally pay higher tuition. “It’s the main topic of conversation among my friends,” said Palak Gera, 21. “They don’t want to apply to the U.S. under Trump.” Said Aman Kumar, age 18: “I’m thinking of applying to Canada."   read more

Voters have long worried about elected officials using their power to line their pockets and shape policies to advance their private interests. But rarely has an incoming president represented such potential for conflicts of interest. Ken Gross calls Trump's holdings "unprecedented" in size and complexity for a president, a "tangled web" of potential conflicts that would be difficult to unravel. As it turns out, Trump doesn't even have to try. Federal ethics rules don't apply to the president.   read more

For about $50, you can get a smartphone with high-def display, fast service and...a secret feature: a backdoor that sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours. Security contractors recently discovered pre-installed software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. U.S. authorities say it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.   read more

If Donald Trump follows through on his promises, a host of taxes that affect only the very richest Americans may be eliminated, along with almost all tax incentives to be philanthropic. As a result, wealthy families may find it much easier to amass dynastic levels of wealth. Trump's tax proposals would allow for the creation of generational wealth to rival that of the last Gilded Age, after which the modern estate tax was enacted in 1916.   read more

FAA has little to show for a decade of work on modernizing air traffic control, and faces billions more in spending, said a new report. "Our review has found that, at least until 2020, most of the transformational programs will not transform how air traffic is managed," said aviation I.G. Hampton. "The inspector general's report at most faults the FAA for describing NextGen programs as 'transformational' when they really just improve how the FAA manages air traffic," noted Rep. Peter DeFazio.   read more

Critics say Trump's pledged U.S. Muslim ban has contributed to anti-Muslim sentiment. "We've seen how words from public figures like Donald Trump translate into violence," said SPLC's Mark Potok. Last year, there were 257 reported incidents of anti-Muslim bias compared to 154 the year before, a 67% increase. "That spike has...accelerated after the election of President-elect Trump," Hooper said, referring to reports of racist incidents around the country since the Nov. 8 election.   read more

The bombing has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world’s poorest country. Publicly, the U.S. has kept its distance from the war, but its alliance with Saudi Arabia, underpinned by tens of billions of dollars in weapons sales, has left U.S. fingerprints on the air campaign. Many strikes are carried out by pilots trained by the U.S. who fly U.S.-made jets. And Yemenis often find the remains of U.S.-made munitions. Graffiti on walls reads: “America is killing the Yemeni people.”   read more

The trend reflects growing public demand for independent reviews of misconduct claims after deadly police encounters across the U.S. "Once the consciousness of people has been awakened, their horror and outrage have manifested, as well as their desire to do something about it," said CPA's Grinage. "There's a recognition that to help fix the issues in policing, we need not only to be focused on the few bad apples but to identify problems with the barrel itself," said Nicholas Mitchell.   read more

Forty Senate Democrats said the provision amounts to government-sponsored discrimination by permitting religiously affiliated federal contractors to refuse to interview a job candidate whose faith differs from theirs and to fire employees who marry their same-sex partners. The provision would allow contractors "to harm hardworking Americans who deserve to be protected from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, religious identity..." they said.   read more

Much action during the campaign was with the tens of millions of Americans who experience media and political campaigns through Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other social media platforms. Everything else was on the outside, fighting its way in. The mainstream media was more allergic to this idea. Still, it reluctantly adjusted to challenge the legitimacy of Trump. This coverage crystallized for many in establishing Trump as not just a bad choice but also a threat.   read more

Despite losing Tuesday’s presidential election, Hillary Clinton appears to be on pace to win the popular vote, an ironic twist in an election in which her opponent repeatedly said the system was rigged against him. Just two days before Election Day, Republican businessman Donald Trump tweeted: “The Electoral College is a disaster for a democracy.” As it turns out, without the Electoral College, Trump probably wouldn’t be the president-elect.   read more

The effort faces steep demographic and institutional obstacles that have kept the offices of elected prosecutors — those deciding whether to seek criminal charges against the officers responsible — among the whitest reserves in U.S. politics. Only a few dozen out of more than 2,300 elected prosecutors nationwide are African-American. Even the National Black Prosecutors Association, which has 400 members, can point to only about a dozen who were elected to their posts.   read more

The American Psychological Association said that 52% of American adults cited the presidential election as a “very or somewhat significant source of stress." After the debates, Excedrin tweeted: “Debates bring headaches; Excedrin brings fast headache relief.” It added that 73% of Americans would experience election-related headaches this year. Ringling's ad had a clown saying: “People keep calling candidates clowns. But we’re real clowns, and we take clowning seriously.”   read more

Facebook and Twitter have been exposing millions of Americans to false stories. The contraction in the reporting corps, with the success of disinformation this year, is making for some sleepless nights in this fake-news environment. “It’s the biggest crisis facing our democracy, the failing business model of real journalism,” said Sen. McCaskill. “If you have a society where people can’t agree on basic facts, how do you have a functioning democracy?” said Post editor Baron.   read more

The grocery trade group hid donor contributions to oppose a voter measure that required labeling of genetically modified organisms. It spent $11 million to defeat the initiative, but refused to reveal actual donors such as Coke, Pepsi and Nestle. The entire scheme was concocted to bypass election disclosure rules. Hirsch said the testimony of GMA trade group CEO Pamela Bailey was vague and "combative" during hearings. The fine is the largest campaign-finance penalty in U.S. history.   read more