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

Judge Peter D. Lichtman said at the time that $200 million was the most he could award under the law, implying he would have ordered a higher amount were it not for the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997, which capped train accident settlements at $200 million. The Act also did not allow for adjustments for inflation, which has risen 40% since 1997.   read more

As a result of his whistleblowing, the IRS was able to recover billions of dollars in unpaid taxes from various individuals. UBS, meanwhile, paid $780 million to the U.S. government to avoid criminal prosecution and turned over account information for more than 4,500 Americans.   read more

But three years into his confinement at Guantánamo, the Department of Defense concluded Latif was not a threat and should be released. The military came to the same conclusion again in 2006 and 2008. A federal judge ordered Latif’s release in 2010, but an appeals court overturned the ruling the following year. Both the Bush and Obama administrations were reluctant to free Latif and others from Yemen, citing the country’s poor security conditions for keeping them locked up.   read more

Sever’s illegal voting was discovered during GOP Governor Rick Scott’s expensive effort to identify non-citizens on voting rolls by examining the state motor vehicle database. Out of 180,000 potential liars, the search turned up one name, Sever’s, who was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE is said to be investigating six more cases of suspected voter fraud.   read more

Naval officials said the work and the training would not pose a significant risk to the whales, which number only 313. Judge Lisa Wood acknowledged that the North Atlantic right whale is “the world's most critically endangered large whale species and one of the world's most endangered mammals.” . However, Judge Wood concluded that the Navy properly analyzed “marine mammal densities and bottom habitat surveys” while performing its environmental impact statement.   read more

The biggest area of waste in health care is unneeded services, which uses up $210 billion each year. Administrative costs consume another $190 billion, and inefficiencies burn up $130 billion. More than $100 billion disappears from inflated prices, and fraud robs another $75 billion.   read more

No understanding has been reached over what to do with 600 newly captured prisoners, who currently remain under American control. The U.S. is also holding onto 30 previously captured detainees that Washington wants to remain behind bars indefinitely without trial. Afghan commanders apparently have not offered assurances that the prisoners would not be released.   read more

He returned to the Middle East to serve as ambassador at the embassy in Amman, Jordan, from July 17, 2008 to June 4, 2011. He joined the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, as deputy chief of mission on July 14, 2011, and became chargé d’affaires upon the departure of Ambassador James Jeffrey on June 1, 2012.   read more

The labor force participation rate, defined as the percentage of Americans who either have a job or are looking for one, fell to 63.5% in August, the lowest in 31 years…since September 1981. The percentage peaked at 67.3% during the first four months of 2000. Economists estimate there are seven million people who have stopped looking for work, in addition to another 13 million who continue the search.   read more

Among the uses Apple promotes for the new technology are “forcing certain electronic devices to enter ‘sleep mode’ when entering a sensitive area” and when “Covert police or government operations may require complete ‘blackout’ conditions.”   read more

Critics like former TARP inspector general Neil Barofsky reply that the bailouts failed to exact reforms, and even preserved the broken too-big-to-fail system that led to the crisis. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve made secret loans and guarantees to large banks worth $7.77 trillion, which the Fed claims have been repaid.   read more

Of the $1.4 billion paid out, $355 million was paid to nearly two dozen companies specializing in private debt collection. Another $1.06 billion was allocated to “guarantee agencies,” nonprofit organizations or state government agencies that administer student loan. Guarantee agencies often outsource the dirty work to debt collectors as well.   read more

SIGAR asked U.S. and NATO officials about the documents and was told all records from October 2006 through February 2011 had been destroyed. The branch in charge of the shredding was the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A), which is dominated by officers of the U.S. Army. Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV served as commander of CSTC-A from 2009 to 2011. He was preceded by Maj. Gen. Richard Formica.   read more

Spending by outside groups totaled $306.2 million as of September 5, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In comparison, such groups blew $301.6 million on the entire 2008 election. Before 2010, liberal outside groups consistently outspent conservative ones, but this trend has been massively reversed. So far this year conservative groups have outspent their liberal counterparts by $240 million to barely $60 million.   read more

Before the law took effect on January 1, 2012, voters needed only to show a valid form of ID that included their signature, such as a Social Security card or a credit card. Under the new statute, voters must show an approved photo identification card at polling places. Library cards with photo IDs do not qualify, nor do student IDs with photos. The city of Memphis takes the position that presenting a library card with a photo should be sufficient to allow someone to vote.   read more

Lamberth wrote that “If the separation-of-powers means anything, it is that this country is not one ruled by executive fiat. Such blanket, unreviewable power over counsel-access by the executive does not comport with our constitutional system of government.” The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which represents several captives, was pleased by the decision. “Today’s ruling reaffirms that constitutional rights are not subject to the whim of the executive.”   read more