President Donald Trump gleefully announced that, under his direction, U.S. military troops had swooped down on the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento and kidnapped California Governor Gavin Newsom. “We’re charging Newscum with fraud.” When a reporter asked for specifics about the fraud charges, Trump pointed to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi, clearly taken by surprise, said, “We’re looking into it and will let you know the details as soon as we’ve created them.”   read more

While there is no doubt that the guns will be welcomed by some in Tucson, resistance is likely as well, including from residents of the supposedly “high crime” areas of the city. Cindy Ayala, who is president of the neighborhood association in the working class neighborhood of Pueblo Gardens, rejects the spending priorities behind the gun giveaway. “We could take that $400 per shotgun and give it to these people so they could go buy groceries, pay rent, pay their utility bills,”   read more

The (FDA) drafted new food safety rules that mandated companies conduct product and environmental testing to prevent pathogens from getting into food supplies. But when those rules were submitted to OMB for review, administration officials from OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs stripped the provision requiring facilities to conduct microbiological testing.   read more

U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth rejected the administration’s argument, and said he was “troubled by the government’s apparent lack of urgency in issuing public versions of classified materials filed in Guantánamo proceedings.” Lamberth added: “The government’s arguments are unavailing and largely boil down to this: ‘Declassification is complicated and time consuming and we already have a lot of work—please don’t pile on.’”   read more

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the fastest growing segment of federal spending from 2015 to 2021 won’t be Medicare or Social Security, but interest payments on the debt. Ballooning interest payments could be so bad that they would wipe out the $1.2 trillion in savings from the sequestration budget cuts over the next decade.   read more

Of the 646 DFI’s, robberies caused 117 of them, making it the largest category. The next largest category was domestic violence incidents that turned deadly, which occurred 84 times. Third were “personal conflict” situations in which a disagreement between friends got out of hand. These totaled 76. Way down the list were DFIs that were provoked by religious bias, which occurred 36 times (7%).   read more

His leadership of the Energy Initiative has drawn criticism from environmentalists and others because large fossil fuel companies gave up to $25 million each to the Initiative, which has released reports supportive of fracking, nuclear energy and other non-renewable technologies. Moniz has served on the boards of directors of or as an advisor to enriched uranium company USEC (2002-2004), BP (2005–2011), and General Electric (2006-present).   read more

ICE agents reportedly told Edwards that they believed they were supposed to go along with “Fast and Furious” because the Office of the Assistant Attorney General asked an ICE investigative unit in Arizona to stop its investigations into weapons smuggling that could have disrupted ATF’s operation.   read more

The ruling meant that all actions by the NLRB since January 2012 were unenforceable—giving businesses legal grounds to challenge them in court. The number of decisions handed down by the NLRB over the past year was nearly 800, and not only are all of these subject to challenge, but the board effectively can’t impose any new rulings on businesses.   read more

The image showed Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, in June 1989, when she sang to the Chinese troops who carried out the bloody crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. The photo didn’t remain online for very long, but it lasted enough time for many to see it and wonder who the first lady really is, given the friendly image that the government has portrayed of Peng.   read more

Recalling that “the EU and the U.S. together account for one-third of all goods and services sold worldwide and more than 50% of the total global economic output,” the U.S. secretary of state believes that “it is important that we move forward quickly with the free trade agreement in order to have a profound impact on the world.” Negotiations on this agreement appear tricky for certain sectors, such as agriculture.   read more

McCarthy's career in the Bay State culminated with stints as undersecretary for policy at EOEA from 1999 to 2003 and as deputy secretary at the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development from 2003 to 2004. McCarthy served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection from 2004 to 2009. She has served as Assistant EPA Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation since 2009.   read more

The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has been negotiated largely in secret, would prevent the U.S. government from giving preference to American companies for federal contracts. News of this provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership prompted 68 House Democrats and one Republican to urge President Barack Obama to reconsider any agreement that ends “Buy American.”   read more

CBP’s own public relations statements give the impression that the majority of those arrested for drug smuggling are Mexican citizens. This plays into the hands of the drug traffickers, who increasingly recruit Americans to serve as their smugglers because they are less likely to be viewed with suspicion by border security. The drug suppliers find no shortage of Americans willing to make the runs, given the need for cash during tough economic times.   read more

The research focused on the 5.7 magnitude quake that hit near Prague, Oklahoma, on November 6, 2011, the largest ever recorded by modern instruments in the state and the largest triggered by injection wells to date, according to the research. The quake injured two people and destroyed 14 homes. The year 2011 saw more than 1,400 earthquakes, the most ever recorded in Oklahoma.   read more

An investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that since the housing crisis last decade, the FDIC repeatedly chose to settle cases secretly with financial institutions. Such actions contradict the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Improvement Act of 1991, which called for bank settlements to be made public. Presumably, public disclosure of settlements would hurt the reputation of the banks that engaged in financial misdeeds, and thus threaten their profit margins.   read more

First established in 1859, the Senate barbershop has been open to the public since the 1970s, but senators get priority. Up until 1979, haircuts were free to senators. Then a charge of $3.50 was imposed, and today a basic trim costs about $20 (plus tip). Senators can also have their eyebrows trimmed for $15.   read more