Trump ordered that the term Homo sapiens be changed to Hetero sapiens. In history books and on websites, the airplane from which the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima will no longer be identified as the Enola Gay, but rather the Enola Straight. Trump also ordered billionaire Mark Cuban, who supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, to change his name to Mark American. If he does not do so, he will be charged with terrorism.   read more

During Obama’s first two years in office, Fried was busy negotiating with foreign governments to get them to take many of Guantánamo’s detainees. The total at the prison dropped from 242 to 166 under Fried’s efforts, with three men dying in custody. But the repatriations nearly ground to a halt last year, when only four detainees were moved out of Guantánamo.   read more

“It appears that fewer people contract influenza during warm winters, and this causes a major portion of the population to remain vulnerable into the next season, causing an early and strong emergence,” said Sherry Towers of Arizona State University, the lead author of the study, which analyzed climate patterns and flu cases from 1997 to the present.   read more

Lawmakers in six states have adopted so-called “Ag-Gag” laws that make it a crime to take videos or still photos on industrial farms that reveal illegal or unethical practices towards livestock. The legislation adopted in North Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Utah was suggested by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization known for promoting corporate agendas.   read more

Ortiz tried for three years to seize Motel Caswell on grounds that it had become a haven for illegal drug deals. The motel owner, Russ Caswell, fought the seizure, claiming he was not responsible for the actions of his guests. Caswell also argued that other nearby businesses had had more illicit drug activity, and that the government wanted his property because of its worth (more than $1 million).   read more

After the education department revised its numbers based on the same federally-mandated criteria used to measure publicly-run schools, only 28% of charter schools met the benchmarks. And none of the 12 cyber charter schools providing online in-home instruction to students met the benchmarks. Meanwhile, 50% of traditional public schools met the criteria   read more

The recent terrorist attack at an oil complex in Algeria that left dozens dead, including three Americans, has prompted one analyst to point out that the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound two years ago produced documents showing the former al-Qaeda leader was communicating Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a group that opposes the Algerian government. It would appear that the Algerian attack was carried out by an offshoot of AQIM.   read more

American citizen Saeed Abedini has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Iranian government for allegedly helping establish underground churches in the Islamic republic. Abedini, an Iranian-born convert to Christianity, reportedly led secret churches in the early 2000s when the pro-reform presidency of Mohammad Khatami tolerated such activity.   read more

In the 1970s, however, the Senate changed its rules in ways that had the unintended consequence of fueling an increase in filibusters by no longer requiring senators to physically hold the floor via marathon speeches (also called a silent filibuster). Liberal and progressive critics were disappointed, especially with the retention of the silent filibuster. Senator Bernie Sanders said,"Most Americans grew up believing that in America the majority rules. That is not the case in the Senate.”   read more

The Constitution uses the phrase “the Recess,” only twice, neither time defining it or distinguishing it from “a recess” or from adjournments. Nearly all of the 659 recess appointments made by the five most recent presidents would be invalid under the new ruling, and any government actions that relied on such appointments could be voided.   read more

The report analyzes 873 exonerations between January 1989 and February 2012. In total, the 873 spent more than 10,000 years in prison for crimes they did not commit—an average of more than 11 years each. Five of the most common reasons for wrongful convictions involved reckless or intentional misconduct, including perjury or false accusation (51%), mistaken witness identification (43%), official misconduct (42%), false or misleading forensic evidence (24%) and false confession (16%).   read more

Under Schedule II, Hydrocodone refills would be forbidden without a new, written prescription from an M.D.—not a physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Distributors would have to store it in special vaults. However, the 19 to 10 vote revealed skepticism that the change would have much of an impact on drug abuse. Some panelists also argued that the change would simply redirect addicts to other drugs like heroin   read more

Some are questioning whether the ACA is too burdensome on smokers, especially since smokers tend to be lower-income and to work in jobs without insurance benefits. For example, a 55-year-old smoker could pay a smoking premium of as much as $4,250 a year, while a 60-year-old could pay up to $5,100.   read more

The investigation was launched after the inspector general (IG) learned that former USAID general counsel Lisa Gomer had helped former chief financial officer David Ostermeyer develop a contract for a “senior government-to-government assistance adviser” that would go to Ostermeyer after he retired. The bidding was later cancelled. The IG’s office was told by Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg, USAID’s No. 2 official, that the investigation was “inappropriate.”   read more

James Cyrus Gilbert is suing the Georgia Department of Driver Services, claiming it had no right to deny his requests for personalized license plates that read: 4GAYLIB, GAYPWR and GAYGUY. The lawsuit followed a story by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that said the state has relied on an arbitrary approval process for vanity license plates. While denying Gilbert’s plates, state officials have approved such terms as HATERS and BEER.   read more

Scenic America, a nonprofit public interest group, sued DOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) claiming the exemption violates U.S. laws, including the 1965 Highway Beautification Act. The digital billboard exemption, approved by the FHWA in September 2007, gave the federal government the right to overrule state agreements limiting the use of flashing or moving advertisements near federal highways   read more

The focus of the lawsuit is Texxxan.com, which features images of women, without their consent, who live in Texas. In many instances, the intimate photos were provided by ex-boyfriends seeking to punish former lovers.   read more