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

The Copyright Office had previously exempted cell phones from the rule, but determined that the wide availability of unlocked phones meant an exemption was no longer warranted. Because the Library of Congress is not an Executive Branch agency, but instead is part of Congress, the President lacks the power to order a change in policy. Consumers fought back, however, angry that wireless carriers were given all the power over unlocking cell phones, even those purchased at full price.   read more

As Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said in response to HSBC’s fine for laundering drug cartel money, “If you’re caught with an ounce of cocaine, the chances are good you go to jail. If you’re caught repeatedly, you can go to jail for life….If you launder nearly a billion dollars in drug money, your company pays a fine and you go home and sleep in your own bed at night.”   read more

Just the second Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice to be convicted in almost three centuries, Justice Melvin was found guilty of six counts of corruption—including theft of services, criminal conspiracy, and misappropriation of state property—on February 21 for using government employees to work on her 2003 and 2009 campaigns for Supreme Court justice, which is an elected position in Pennsylvania.   read more

Following news last week of underground storage tanks leaking toxic waste, the contractor hired to clean said tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Site has admitted to committing fraud. The company, CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. (CHG), admitted that its workers padded their time cards, with the company’s blessing, for years from 1999-2008, thus defrauding the government.   read more

While at Washington Mutual, Jewell joined the board of outdoor products retailer REI, the nation’s largest consumer cooperative, in 1996. In 2000, the board hired her to be REI’s chief operating officer, and in 2005 she succeeded Dennis Madsen as chief executive officer. Jewell has promoted green policies at REI, which uses energy-efficient building materials, buys renewable energy, and offsets the carbon emissions from store-sponsored travel-adventure packages.   read more

Even though flour has only gone from about 3 cents a pound to 52 cents a pound (1,588%), bread has gone from less than 6 cents a loaf to $1.42 a loaf (2,539%). Potatoes, only 1.6 cents a pound a century ago, now average 63 cents a pound (3,919%).   read more

Efforts to determine the health and environmental risks of depleted uranium (DU) weaponry in Iraq have been hampered by the Obama administration. DU, which makes shell and bullet casings harder and more capable of piercing armor, can contaminate the environment and contribute to health problems, including cancer and birth defects. It is estimated that 400 tons of DU ammunition were fired in Iraq, mostly by American units, during the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion.   read more

The heavily-edited video purported to show Vera willing to help O’Keefe smuggle underage girls into the United States to be prostitutes. O’Keefe and associate Hannah Giles, who agreed to a settlement earlier in the year, posted a video of the encounter on the Internet, unaware that Vera had already reported them to the authorities for suggesting he break the law.   read more

For a nation officially devoted to the egalitarian ideals of communism, China has no shortage of lawmakers making themselves extremely rich. The National People’s Congress, China’s mostly ceremonial legislature charged with approving edicts from the Communist Party, currently includes 31 legislators who possess $1 billion or more in personal assets. The U.S. Congress, for comparison’s sake, has zero billionaires.   read more

Weintraub has at times been blunt about the ineffectiveness of the FEC, which is supposed to oversee campaign finance laws, but has been torn by partisan politics. “The notion that we are a fierce investigative agency that people are quaking in their boots about is probably not the case,” she said in May 2011. “Back in ’06 and ’07, they said we were ‘feckless’ and ‘toothless,’ I am not sure what the adjective would be today.”   read more

In January, incomes decreased 3.6%, the largest monthly drop in 20 years. But less money coming in didn’t cause a corresponding drop in consumer spending. Rather, household purchases increased 0.2% in January after a 0.1% gain during the previous month. The savings rate, on the other hand, slipped to 2.4%, the lowest since November 2007.   read more

The researchers discovered that people searching both drugs were more likely to also search for symptoms that indicated the presence of hyperglycemia, such as “high blood sugar” and “blurry vision.” The Food and Drug Administration, which relies on doctors to tell them about drug side effects they notice in patients, has not issued any warnings about taking paroxetine and pravastatin together.   read more

In January, in fact, the U.S.-NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed there had been a 7% drop in Taliban attacks last year—only to later admit the numbers were wrong and that there had been no reduction at all. So now the Pentagon just won’t bother publishing the number of times that Taliban forces engage American forces.   read more

An example of a paywall situation involves workplace safety rules. For an employer to know the dos and don’ts of providing a risk-free office, they must purchase 200 different documents from a private standards developing organization. Activist Carl Malamud took it upon himself to provide some federal standards online so people could be informed without opening up their wallets. This action got Malamud into hot water, and he now faces the possibility of being taken to court.   read more

Local police sent two surveillance robots inside the home to find Blevins. Upon seeing the larger of the two robots, Blevins opened fire and damaged the roving technology. He now faces two felony counts of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance and vandalism of government property, among other charges.   read more

This argument has provoked derisive responses from some observers who find it appalling the FBI could blame draconian budget cuts that have yet to really kick in for the agency’s failure to indict Wall Street leaders. Former Congressman Brad Miller (D-North Carolina) told the Huffington Post, “Are they worried that because of sequestration the FBI will interview critical witnesses three years after the statute of limitations has expired instead of just one year?"   read more