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

Eric Williams was conducting a nightly headcount alone in a unit housing 130 prisoners at the high security federal prison in Canaan, Wayne County, when a prisoner beat him and stabbed him repeatedly using a homemade knife. Williams was the first federal prison guard to be killed in the line of duty since 2008. Two dozen federal prison employees have died on the job since 1901.   read more

In supporting an industry-backed bill in Illinois, a Sierra Club official, Jack Darin, said there was no way to avoid fracking from taking place, so the organization might as well compromise and get regulations in place. Complaints about the Illinois plan include its provisions to allow drilling on state land and permit fracking as long as rules are in place to regulate it.   read more

Siding with the Obama administration, the court’s conservative wing said the plaintiffs—a group that included the ACLU, Amnesty International, Global Fund for Women, Global Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, The Nation magazine, PEN American Center, Service Employees International Union and others—could not demonstrate that they or their clients would be harmed by the law.   read more

American Electric Power (AEP) will stop using coal by 2015 at power plants in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. It intends to replace the energy produced by the plants with new wind and solar investments in Indiana and Michigan. The company also will spend $5 billion to install pollution controls on other plants located throughout the East and reduce its annual sulfur dioxide emissions over the next 12 years from 828,000 tons to 174,000 tons.   read more

Several of the charges dealt with the gifting of personal firearms to King Abdullah of Jordan and his entourage while the company was trying to win a security contract. Others related to the seizure automatic weapons that exceeded Blackwater’s legal limit. Blackwater officials claimed they were just storing the weapons for the Camden County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.   read more

The 7% statistic first appeared on January 22 on the website of the American-led coalition, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). It subsequently was used in the Pentagon’s semi-annual report to Congress on Afghanistan security progress. The figure then abruptly vanished from the website without explanation. A coalition spokesman later said the error was caught during a “quality control check.”   read more

Coming in dead last was British food giant Associated British Foods, owner of Ovaltine and other brands with 13 points on a scale of 70. Next to last were Kellogg's and General Mills, with both scoring 16 points. Nestlé made the top of the list with 36 points, with Unilever close behind at 34.   read more

The newly discovered problem only adds to the soil contamination at Hanford, which was used for five decades to produce plutonium for the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. There are nearly 150 tanks, similar in size and design, to the six spilling radioactive liquid and sludge at the site. Four of the six tanks have leaked in the past. The news led the state’s governor, Jay Inslee, to wonder about the “integrity” of the other tanks.   read more

When President Obama was asked if drone strikes could be used against U.S. citizens within the U.S., his reply was as evasive as Brennan’s: There “has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil.”   read more

Afghan officials later said that Afghans supporting American commandos were the main suspects, and that U.S. soldiers had more likely enabled the wrongdoings instead of perpetrated them. The accusations centered on the actions of local militia armed and trained by the Americans, the creation of which has been opposed by Afghanistan’s national government.   read more

One example is Lake Murray State Park Airport in Oklahoma, recipient of $150,000 annually from Washington. The airport consists of a field with no landing lights, no electricity, no control tower, and no people to operate it. There is, on average, one landing and takeoff a week, and often is used by passing private planes whose pilots need to use the bathroom.   read more

Hawaii was found to be the happiest state in the country. Next in line were Maine, Nevada, Utah and Vermont. At the other end, Louisiana was ranked at the bottom, just ahead of Mississippi, Maryland, Delaware and Georgia. Among cities, Napa, California, came in first in terms of bliss, followed by Idaho Falls, Idaho; Longmont, Colorado; San Clemente, California; and Simi Valley, California.   read more

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo enable the lenders to withdraw payments automatically from borrowers’ bank accounts. This includes those in states that have banned the loans. Often these withdrawals lead to quick profits for the banks thanks to overdraft and other fees. In fact, a report by Pew Charitable Trusts found that 27% of payday loan borrowers ended up with overdraft fees.   read more

A military official told The Washington Post that eventually the U.S. would like to relocate the base to the northern Niger city of Agadez, which is closer to the Malian territory where the rebels are located. U.S. contractors have already been operating surveillance flights out of Agadez for several months.   read more

If owners of automobiles are required to have insurance, then why shouldn’t gun owners be mandated to carry liability coverage? That’s the argument many lawmakers around the country are putting forth to support new legislation in state capitols. Supporters say the new requirement would provide financial incentive for gun owners to handle their firearms safely (those deemed less of a risk would presumably pay lower premiums).   read more

Upset by efforts to impose new gun control restrictions, a group of small firearms manufacturers are threatening to not sell weapons to local police in states that adopt new restrictions. The group currently numbers about 50 and includes gun shops as well as machinists. The Police Loophole web site lists 87 such companies.   read more