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 jump in violent crime was driven by a 22% increase in simple assaults, defined as those not involving bodily harm or weapons. Property crimes went up because of a 14% increase in household burglaries. Meanwhile, the largest decrease in the crime rate came in the category of rape and sexual assault, which dropped 9% between 2010 and 2011.   read more

Under the tax code, penalties can be assessed for not filing a tax return or for failing to pay the full amount shown. But Americans who have paid on time and in full for the previous three years can ask for the penalties to be waived. The problem is that the IRS did not bother to tell 1.45 million tax filers in 2010 about this opportunity, known as the First-Time Abate.   read more

Founded twenty years before Christopher Columbus sailed for the New World, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is 118 years older than the world’s second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank of Germany.   read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed how the statements should read. One example states: “For decades, we denied that we controlled the level of nicotine delivered in cigarettes. Here’s the truth: Cigarettes are a finely-tuned nicotine delivery device designed to addict people.” Tobacco lawyers claim the statements amount to “forced public confessions” and want to modify the language.   read more

Only two of the six “studies” are really studies at all. Three are online articles and one is an op-ed that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The author of one study, Martin Feldstein, an advisor to the Romney campaign, said that it was “impossible to calculate the exact effects of the future reforms since Gov. Romney hasn't specified what he would do.”   read more

More than 90% of sugar beets and soybeans and 88% of corn grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered, according to the organization. Sugar beets are the preferred sweetener for 55% of prepared, sweetened foods, and 79% of salad oil is made from soybean oil. EWG did not include in its estimates several foods that are commonly genetically engineered, such as canola oil, cottonseed oil, papaya, yellow squash and miscellaneous soy products.   read more

“I would even argue that if you’ve got one graduate degree and you borrowed a lot to pay for it, your second graduate degree will be free,” study coauthor Jason Delisle told Raw Story. “It gets rid of any incentive for law schools to bring down their cost.”   read more

Two years ago, the Army allocated $10.7 million to take part in a Washington conference and trade show organized by the Association of the United States Army, a Virginia-based group that brings together defense contractors and members of the military. The Army spent nearly the same total ($10.6 million) in 2011 for the same event, before finally deciding this year to limit to $1.3 million the Army’s expenditure for this year’s event, which will take place in Washington D.C. October 22-24.   read more

The ACLU says the litigation represents the first of its kind to directly make allegations against an investment bank, rather than a lender, of violating federal civil rights laws. Morgan Stanley stands accused of violating the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which prohibits unfair lending practices, and the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bans discrimination for credit transactions, including mortgages.   read more

Defense procurement officials are supposed to resolicit bids in some cases so that more than one offer is on the table for consideration. But the IG faulted the Pentagon for not realizing “potential cost savings associated with increased competition and re-competing $390.9 million in contract modifications.”   read more

According to the Kaiser analysis, for those remaining in traditional Medicare, 53% would pay more, with the average premium increased by $720 annually. Among participants in private Medicare Advantage plans, 88% would pay higher premiums unless they switched to less expensive plans with less coverage and/or higher deductibles. The average premium hike in this group would be $1,044 more annually, according to the study.   read more

What McDonalds and Burger King do is classify food items, like the Whopper, as intellectual property and charge franchises a fee to sell them. But instead of collecting the fees in the U.S., where the Internal Revenue Service would demand taxes, the fast food operations house the fees in low-tax countries, like Switzerland. The scheme has allowed Burger King to pay the Swiss an effective tax rate of 2% to 12%, instead of a 35%-39% rate in the U.S.   read more

Environmental activistbTimothy DeChristopher, who garnered national attention for falsely bidding on oil-drilling leases during the Bush administration, has been released from prison. Jailed for two years for bidding at a December 19, 2008, Bureau of Land Management auction without any intent to pay, DeChristopher will spend the remaining six months of his term at halfway house in Salt Lake City.   read more

No “federal law exists that prevents corporations from requiring, on pain of termination, that employees attend one-sided partisan speeches, rallies, videos, or other events that advocate the election of specific candidates or parties....nothing prohibits employers from requiring employees to participate in one-sided political propaganda events."   read more

More than 80% of all ballots in Ohio are cast at polling places that handle more than one precinct. Oftentimes, poll workers will give a ballot for the wrong precinct to a voter who must cast a provisional ballot because they don’t have proper identification or other reasons. In these instances, the state threw out such ballots. In 2008, about 14,000 ballots were not counted because they were cast in the wrong precinct at the right polling place.   read more

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week reinstated at least for the time being Montana’s campaign donation limits. The law capped individual contributions to the governor’s race to $630 and contributions to a state legislative candidate to $160, although the amounts were adjusted for inflation after each election cycle. The law also limited the total amount political parties could contribute to a campaign—for example $22,600 for a gubernatorial candidate.   read more