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 new audit confirmed findings of a 2013 AP investigation, which said EPA never conducted studies to determine whether air and water quality benefits from adding corn-based ethanol to gasoline. AP described the ethanol era as far more damaging to the environment than the government predicted. As farmers rushed to find new places to plant corn, they wiped out millions of acres of conservation land, polluted water supplies and destroyed habitat.   read more

The tests are more likely to have incorrect results in blacks than in whites. The study is likely to have implications for other minorities and diseases, including cancer. Researchers found that blacks are more likely to be told mistakenly that they are at risk. The misdiagnosis can have big repercussions. There is the emotional stress, plus time and expense of medical follow-up. Young people may be told to drop out of sports and told to have devices surgically implanted in their chests.   read more

Big banks are increasingly using the fine print of checking account agreements to restrict their customers’ ability to settle disputes in court, even though most consumers want to keep their legal options open. Over the last four years, the share of 29 big banks that use so-called mandatory binding arbitration clauses has risen to 72% from 59%. And of a larger pool of 44 large banks analyzed this year, almost three-fourths used the clauses, Pew found.   read more

Farmers — or anyone who uses water in a business — can ask the IRS for a tax write-off for what’s called a “depleted asset.” In certain places, water counts as an asset, just like oil, or minerals like copper. The more water gets used, the more cash credit farmers can claim against their income tax. And that’s just what almost 3,000 Texas landowners in just one water district appear to have done last year — a year in which nearly half of Texas was in a state of “severe” or “extreme” drought.   read more

The number of such jobs for newly credentialed lawyers probably shrank, Leipold said, because graduates are competing “with other junior lawyers for most jobs.” And there is little change in sight, he said, because law firms of every size will face a smaller head count “in the coming years and even decades” as law firms incorporate “growing efficiencies created by technology and business systems and increased competition from nontraditional legal services providers.”   read more

The proposed merger drew comment from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said, "I have a detailed and targeted plan to immediately put a stop to inversions and invest in the U.S., block deals like Johnson Controls and Tyco, and place an 'exit tax' on corporations that leave the country to lower their tax bill." The shareholder class action claims that Johnson's anticipated tax savings are the sole purpose of the merger and come at the expense of minority taxpaying shareholders.   read more

Climate change is never going to announce itself by name. But this is what we should expect it to look like. That is what many scientists, analysts and activists are saying after heavy rains in southern Louisiana have killed at least 10 people and forced tens of thousands of residents from their homes. That increase in heavy rainfall and the resultant flooding “is consistent with what we expect to see in the future if you look at climate models,” said NCEI's David Easterling.   read more

The disaster has heightened economic and spiritual pain in a region hamstrung by poverty and drought. The tribe is seeking compensation for lost revenue and psychological damages. “We cannot just sit back and let the EPA do what they’ve been doing, just doling us pennies,” said Navajo's Russell Begaye. “This river is the main river that gives life to the whole region, not just those who live around the river, but the entire nation. This is our lifeblood. It is sacred to us.”   read more

Mack caught the attention of the Freedom from Religion Foundation after a litigant complained that he was sanctioning prayer in his courtroom. "FFRF contacted the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct to complain about Judge Mack's practice of opening court sessions with prayer," wrote FFRF's attorney. "Shortly thereafter, a second complainant...contacted FFRF to object to the courtroom prayer practice. Both complainants consider the courtroom prayers to be an endorsement of Christianity."   read more

"Though water quality standards require the [waterways] to be safely usable for swimming, kayaking, rowing, and wading, it is highly dangerous to do so when there is a spike in fecal bacteria levels," said the complaint. The groups say even brief exposures to feces-tainted water — as might happen if splashed in the face — can cause a wide range of illnesses like gastroenteritis, earaches, pink eye and skin infections.   read more

Administration officials said the new rules would cut 1.1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions through 2027 and represent a global benchmark for reducing vehicle-exhaust pollutants linked to climate change. The carbon-reduction target is 10% more than when the rules were proposed last year. The trucking industry will save $170 billion in fuel costs through 2027 and reduce petroleum consumption by 2 billion barrels. “We are way out ahead of any other country,” said EPA chief Gina McCarthy.   read more

When hairstylist Chaz Dean pitched his hair care products, he sold millions. But his formula got an unexpected result: itching, rashes, even hair loss. More than 21,000 complaints have been lodged, placing him at the center of a fierce debate over the government’s power to ensure the safety of a cosmetics industry with about $50 billion in annual sales. The fight has spilled into he beauty products industry, and each side has its champions in Congress.   read more

A puzzling concentration of the greenhouse gas methane over the Southwestern United States appears to come mostly from leaks in natural gas production, scientists said Monday. They include gas wells, storage tanks, pipelines and processing plants. The hot spot is not a local safety or health issue, but methane does contribute to global warming. Evidence of the hot spot dates as far back as 2003, and a satellite image released in 2014 showed it in vivid color.   read more

The Energy Dept's unprecedented proposed transfer of "a toxic liquid stew" containing nuclear waste between Canada and the U.S violates federal law, seven environmental groups claim in court. The proposed $60 million deal would see more than 6,000 gallons of the liquid waste transported more than 1,100 miles. "The radioactive waste byproducts...are acknowledged to be among the most radioactively hazardous materials on Earth," the complaint states.   read more

VW owners in the U.S. will receive about $20,000 per car as compensation for the company’s diesel deception. VW owners in Europe at most get a software update and a short length of plastic tubing. “Why are they getting so much and we’re getting nothing?” Franz said of U.S. owners. The startling gap in treatment is the result of European laws that shield corporations from class action suits brought by unhappy consumers.   read more

While it appears increasingly unlikely that President Obama will succeed in closing the prison before he leaves office in January, the transfer brought him significantly closer to another goal: getting out every detainee who has been approved for transfer. Some have been stranded on that list for years because they could not be repatriated. When Obama took office in 2009, 242 detainees remained at Guantánamo.   read more