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 Trust Women Foundation has purchased the building where the late George Tiller provided abortion services, including so-called late-term abortions. They plan to open the Trust Women Family Planning and Memorial Center. Tiller was shot to death while serving as an usher at his church on May 31, 2009, by Scott Roeder, an antiabortion zealot from Kansas City.   read more

Morrison was accused of soliciting underwriting business from Cahill’s office beginning in 2008, while also working on the treasurer’s gubernatorial campaign from Goldman Sachs’ office. The fine represents the first time that the SEC has penalized someone for pay-to-play violations involving in-kind non-cash contributions to a political campaign.   read more

After 55 days of interrogation, including sleep deprivation and torture, Salah pled guilty and signed a plea deal. Israel released him in 1997 and he returned home to the U.S., where the government charged him with terrorism and conspiracy. A Chicago jury found him not guilty in 2007, but the government has refused to lift the designation or the restrictions.   read more

The world’s newest nation—South Sudan—has sent its first ambassador to the U.S., ironically the same man who recently served as the chief envoy to Washington from Sudan, the country from which South Sudan seceded last year after decades of civil war. Akec Khoc Aciew Khoc, who was Khartoum’s man in Washington from 2006 to 2011, is now Juba’s man in D.C.   read more

Than Swe served as director general for the Progress of Border Areas and National Races in the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs from May 2000 to March 2008. He served as deputy permanent representative to the United Nations from March 2008 to March 2009, when he was appointed Burmese ambassador to the U.N., a post he held until his appointment as ambassador to the U.S.   read more

Another sign of the partisan divide is found in responses to the question: Would you mind if your child married someone from another political party? In 1960, only 5% reacted negatively. By 2010, 40% objected to the idea, including 50% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats. The authors of the survey posit that the growing hostility has less to do with actual policy or ideological differences, but more to do with increasingly negative election campaigns that emphasize attacking the other side.   read more

The support to Boeing consists of $2.6 billion in research and development (R&D) funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); $1.2 billion in R&D monies from the Department of Defense; $2.2 billion from foreign sales subsidies; $3.1 billion in tax breaks from Washington State, where Boeing is headquartered; and $476 million in subsidies granted by the city of Wichita, Kansas.   read more

On May 6, 2010, U.S. markets were disrupted by a “flash crash” that sent the Dow Jones average plummeting more than 600 points in a matter of minutes, before coming back again almost as quickly. On August 1 of this year, The Knight Capital Group lost $440 million in 45 minutes as a result of a computer glitch and sent the trading firm to the brink of bankruptcy.   read more

The ACLU first requested the records in 2008, but the FBI refused. Eventually, the agency released 13,088 pages of documents, as well as two cassette tapes and a DVD. But it redacted another 4,952 pages and a second DVD and withheld 425 pages all together. The ACLU asked for access to the remaining, censored files. Following his review of the records in question, Lasnik ordered the FBI to release the documents within two weeks.   read more

Latinos comprise 15% of San Francisco’s population, but, according to official statistics, account for only 1.5% of all arrests. Even this small number is the result of arrests made by the California Highway Patrol within the city, since the Highway Patrol uses a more modern computer system. On September 12, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr assured the city police commission that from now on, his department will allow arrestees to self-identify their ethnic group.   read more

Under the legislation, which was sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut), the disclosure forms would not be made available until December 8. The STOCK Act provision potentially impacts about 28,000 senior public employees, as well as political appointees and high-ranking military officers. The relevant section of the STOCK is opposed by the Senior Executives Association and the American Foreign Service Association.   read more

Americans also have grown more despondent about the future for young people. Less than 30% said they believed the next generation would have more opportunity to get ahead than they did.   read more

NIH-supported research centers will still have access to another 300 chimpanzees for invasive research even though the Institute of Medicine concluded nine months ago that most invasive chimpanzee research was scientifically unnecessary. Even the NIRC will continue to engage in primate research for private industry clients and will continue to house 6,000 non-human primates.   read more

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a probe of cheating scandals in various states uncovered “a subculture of dishonesty” among some educators. The findings included instructors providing answers to students, administrators organizing groups to erase and correct student answers, and education leaders ignoring allegations of cheating. In the 130 cheating cases that the Journal-Constitution examined, less than a dozen teachers were actually punished.   read more

A major player in the investigation was Khalid Ibrahim El Fadli, director of the climate department at the Libyan National Meteorological Center, who found the original logs and determined that a new person took over the reading and recording of the temperature at Al Azizia two days before the legendary hottest day reading. Unfortunately, Gaddafi accused Libyans who shared climate information with foreigners to be traitors, and Western meteorologists lost contact with El Fadli in February 2011.   read more

The DOE began funding research into fracking and horizontal drilling in 1975, and five years later, lawmakers approved an important tax break to encourage “unconventional” natural gas drilling. Among the most important government contributions was the development by government scientists of micro-seismic (3D) mapping, which is known in the industry as “frack mapping.” Federal subsidies for the oil and natural gas industry began in 1916.   read more