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

Karen Clark Stanton has been executive director in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs since 2009. From 2008 to 2009, Stanton was the deputy executive director in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, rising to executive director in 2009.   read more

Matthew T. Harrington has been the director of the Office of Analysis for Africa in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the State Department since 2012. From 2010 to 2012, Harrington served as a foreign policy advisor to the Commander of United States Army South, the army component of U.S. Southern Command.   read more

Mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses were supposed to result in consistency within the U.S. judicial system when it came to punishing those caught using or selling illegal drugs. But the sentencing laws have not been consistently enforced, thanks to local prosecutors, some of whom have zealously punished small-time drug offenders.   read more

Officers stopped about 2.4 million individuals between 2009 and 2012, and arrested 150,000 (6%)—of whom only half were found guilty or pleaded guilty, according to a report (pdf) by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office. Two percent of those arrested – or 0.1% of all stops – led to a conviction for a violent crime, and only 2% of arrests led to a conviction for possession of a weapon.   read more

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) identified 3,281 inmates who will never leave prison, even though they did not commit murder. Among them are men and women who shoplifted, stole gasoline or tools, or tried cashing a stolen check, and as a result, wound up being sentenced to life without parole. African-Americans make up the vast majority of these individuals: 65%. In one state, Louisiana, 91% of those serving life for non-violent crimes are black.   read more

In recent years, immigrants from China have increasingly tried entering the U.S. through the Mexican border. The numbers are substantial enough for the federal government to now post signs near the international crossing that feature warning messages in English, Spanish and Mandarin.   read more

Methamphetamine production has become so rampant in fueling crime that many law enforcement organizations are calling for states to remove the drug’s key, over-the-counter ingredient from pharmacy shelves. But the pharmaceutical industry, which makes that ingredient—pseudoephedrine—is fighting new laws that would make this drug prescription-only.   read more

Despite its success in eradicating its own chemical weapons, some Albanian officials want nothing to do with Syria’s lethal agents, not after their country stopped being “Europe’s garbage dump,” a distinction that evolved after years of importing non-hazardous waste from its neighbors, like Italy. In fact, a two-year campaign led by environmentalists produced a referendum that resulted in a government-sanctioned ban on importing waste products into the country.   read more

Sana Majeed spoke of an incident back in 2005, when a group of men in black confronted her on the street for wearing inappropriate clothing and not covering her hair. “Islamist parties started to control Iraq and that was the worst nightmare Iraqi women have ever faced,” Majeed, who now wears a black abaya and head scarf, told Reuters. “Religious parties and militia have stolen free life from Iraqi women.”   read more

Americans who don’t purchase insurance will be penalized. A family of two adults with two or more children, for example, would pay $285 or 1% of the family’s income over the $20,300 filing threshold, whichever is greater. If a person is due a refund from the Internal Revenue Service, the government can deduct the penalty from the money owed. Otherwise, there isn’t any legal mechanism to punish people for not paying.   read more

The four largest banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo—today are 30% larger than five years ago. that the five largest banks “now hold more than half of the total banking assets in the country. One study earlier this year showed that the Too Big to Fail status is giving the 10 biggest U.S. banks an annual taxpayer subsidy of $83 billion.”   read more

Afghanistan’s government suspects that members of an elite U.S. Army unit were involved in the mysterious disappearance and deaths of 17 civilians. The Afghans vanished from Wardak province after being detained by U.S. Green Berets between October 2012 and February 2013. Bodies of 10 of the men were eventually discovered in shallow graves outside the U.S. base that housed Operational Detachment-Alpha, or A Team.   read more

Farmers dedicated more acreage to opium production: about 209,000 hectares this year versus 154,000 hectares in 2012 and 193,000 in the peak year of 2007. Two more provinces began producing opium (Balkh and Faryab), bringing the total in Afghanistan to 19 provinces—out of 34, which means more than 50% are now supporting the illicit drug trade. Almost half of the production takes place in Helmand Province.   read more

Under the Affordable Care Act (pdf), the federal government is supposed to “promptly and without undue delay” transfer the applications of those going through HealthCare.gov that meet the requirements for Medicaid eligibility to states. But the Obama administration has failed to carry out this important provision of the law. Unlike regular insurance coverage accessed through the website, which can begin on January 1, those eligible for Medicaid can be covered immediately.   read more

An example from the movies analyzed in the study was the “Die Hard” film series. The 1990 adventure “Die Hard 2” was rated R, but a later sequel, 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard,” was rated PG-13 in spite of having more gun violence.   read more

The spying uncovered that Saudi Arabia was secretly producing more oil than it claimed, which undercut the organization’s goal of inflating oil prices. The NSA learned that the Saudis were releasing inaccurate totals about the country’s oil production, which confirmed suspicions by officials in the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department and the Department of Energy.   read more