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

At a time when thousands of Americans are trying to enjoy, if not just survive, their golden years, the federal government has been garnishing their Social Security checks to pay off old student loans. About 156,000 individuals have found themselves in this situation, losing on average $180 out of a typical monthly check of $1,200.   read more

When Israel launched the missile attack earlier this month that killed 10 civilians in a United Nations school, it used an American-made Hellfire missile. That wasn’t the only time that American weaponry has been used against Hamas and the Palestinians living in Gaza. A Mark 84 bomb made in the U.S. was found unexploded in the city of Deir al Balah, while 120mm artillery shells—stamped with “Made in USA”—have apparently landed in Rafah, based on shell casings found.   read more

The Federal Election Commission (FEC), in reaching yet another 3-3 deadlock due to the Democratic-Republican split among commissioners, has effectively told the Conservative Action Fund that it can receive Bitcoin donations. The most recent deadlock is considered a blow to efforts to improve transparency in elections, due to the untraceable nature of Bitcoins.   read more

The American Academy of Pediatrics says in a new paper that middle schools and high schools should push back start times to 8:30 a.m. or later so students can get more rest. Opponents of later school start times cite their effect on after-school employment, athletics and other extracurricular activities.   read more

The Department of Defense’s 1033 program—which funnels all kinds of military surplus goods to police—has a provision that clearly says that any participating law enforcement agency must use its equipment within one year of receiving it. If they don’t, they have to give it up.   read more

Several companies have developed systems that tap into cell providers’ databases and use that information to match a mobile phone signal to the tower it’s accessing. These systems are being marketed internationally, and spy agencies and others in just about any country can track a subject’s movements anywhere in the world.   read more

Researchers tested the Rapiscan recently and found it was possible to carry firearms, explosives and other weapons through the scanners without detection, Greenberg wrote. These included “a disturbing list of other possible tricks, such as using Teflon tape to conceal weapons against someone’s spine, installing malware on the scanner’s console that spoofed scans, or simply molding plastic explosives around a person’s body."   read more

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Railroad Retirement Board are not providing full benefits to same-sex couples. The VA says Title 38 of the U.S. Code requires that benefits decisions be based on a person’s state of residence, and if that state forbids gay marriage, then the employee is out of luck.   read more

One nation that does a lot of beheadings is on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Lately, in fact, Saudi Arabia can’t seem to get enough beheadings. Its government has executed at least 19 people using this method since August 4, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Of the 19, eight were found guilty of non-violent offenses; seven for drug smuggling and one for committing sorcery. The Saudi government is scheduled to keep a spot on the Human Rights Council for two more years.   read more

Beginning in the mid-1970s, large corporations began organizing into well-funded lobbying groups like the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These groups, which had leaned Republican, realized that it would be more effective to influence members of Congress from both parties.   read more

LRAD Corporation makes long-range acoustic devices that produce high-decibel noises that can chase away pirates on the high seas or disrupt protestors. Lenco builds and sells the Bearcat armored truck, which is a version of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle used in Afghanistan and Iraq to protect troops from mines and IEDs, none of which have ever been deployed in St. Louis County.   read more

The new rule allows such corporations the same out as previously given to non-profit organizations with similar objections. They file a form with the insurer or write a letter stating their objections to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the company’s insurance carrier is required to provide contraception coverage without cost to the employer.   read more

The Ricketts family, whose net worth is more than $1 billion, owns the Cubs, the most profitable team in baseball. Not profitable enough for the Ricketts, apparently. The family doesn’t want to pay for healthcare for all its employees, so they cut the hours of stadium personnel, including grounds crew, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. On the day of the rainout, upper management had sent home 10 members of the grounds crew without consulting the on-field supervisors.   read more

India’s former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is immune from an allegation that he supported an alleged genocide of Sikhs during his 10-year rule, a U.S. judge ruled this week. But U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in the District of Columbia said that Singh, who resigned in May, did not have "head-of-state immunity" from allegations concerning his time as India's finance minister in the 1990s.   read more

For many groups of workers, the drop is significantly worse. Restaurant cooks, for instance, have experienced an 8.3% fall. For food preparation workers, it’s been 6.3%; for personal care aides, 6.3%; and for maids and housekeepers, 5.8%. The wage decline is bad news for the economy, considering that 41% of the job growth in the country since last year has been in low-wage industries.   read more

Forty-two percent of those leaving the island are doing so for job-related reasons, according to the survey, while 38% are moving for family reasons. Despite the recovery from the Great Recession, unemployment in Puerto Rico is still high. In June, the unemployment rate there was 13.1%, compared to 6.2% in the United States overall.   read more