According to aides who were present when Trump discussed the issue, but who choose to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, Trump said he was sick of Vance and wanted to fire him. “I wanted him to be my attack dog,” said Trump, “but he appears foolish on television. He dropped the college football trophy. He met with Pope Francis and the next day the pope died. Vance is toxic, and I don’t want him to come near me. He just doesn’t look as good on television as I thought he would.”   read more

Many teachers provide misinformation about climate change, the survey found. The evidence that human activity is a major cause of recent climate change is overwhelming, but 30% of the 1,500 teachers surveyed said they emphasize that recent global warming “is likely due to natural causes,” while 12% said they did not emphasize human causes. Half of that 12% said they did not discuss any causes at all. Close to a third of the teachers also reported conveying messages that are contradictory.   read more

With fallout from the water emergency expected to send house prices lower, the vacancy rate may continue to rise. "The water crisis didn't cause the root problem in Flint that's contributing to these high vacancy rates, but it's going to exacerbate the issue going forward," said RealtyTrac VP Daren Blomquist. Flint's real estate problems lie in the loss of higher-paying manufacturing jobs in recent decades and a roughly 20 percent decline in its population since 2000.   read more

Requirement for a search warrant applies only to federal agencies and not, as some privacy advocates had hoped, to state and local law enforcement whose use of the equipment has stirred particular concern and scrutiny from local judges. "New Yorkers have very real concerns about the NYPD's adoption of intrusive surveillance technology," said NYCLU's Mariko Hirose. "The NYPD should at minimum obtain warrants before using Stingrays to protect the privacy of innocent people."   read more

The memorial, HM 417, passed the Florida House and Senate by an overwhelming voice vote. It is part of a national movement led by U.S. Term Limits to fight careerism in Washington. Article V gives state legislators a way to make term limits on Congress a reality without needing congressional approval. For the convention to be called, 34 states must pass similar legislation. If the convention proposes an amendment, 38 states must ratify it for it to be added to the U.S. Constitution.   read more

If you are an American taxpayer, it means the burden of making up lost revenue falls more heavily on you. It also creates an uneven playing field for other companies that end up feeling like fools for staying put. For now, rules limiting this type of behavior seem to be a pipe dream. Instead, the corporate runaways are winning — winning no good-American awards, but taking easy money out of the pockets of the U.S. taxpayer.   read more

Computers that control cars of the future can be considered drivers just like humans, the federal government's highway safety agency has decided. The redefinition of "driver" by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an important break for Google, which is developing self-driving cars that get around without steering wheels, pedals — or even the need for a person to be inside. For Google's design, human control would be limited to a start and stop button.   read more

The surprising move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab." A 5-4 majority issued the temporary freeze. The Obama administration's plan aims to stave off the worst predicted impacts of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions at existing power plants by about one-third by 2030.   read more

The price tag on the cleanup exceeded $540 million last year. It will cost an estimated $64 million and take at least four more years for the EPA to finish its work, according to documents released Monday. Even after that's done, hazardous asbestos will remain beneath the soil and in the walls of many houses, where it was used for insulation. Health workers have estimated that as many as 400 people have died and almost 3,000 have been sickened from exposure in Libby and the surrounding area.   read more

Lawmakers and police are pushing bills to enable unscrambling of data to obtain critical evidence in human trafficking, terrorism and child pornography cases. The bills seek to loosen the powerful encryption tools cell phone firms have installed to protect a phone user's privacy from hacking. Supporters argue police need access to data that can help them solve criminal cases, while technology and privacy groups are concerned the legislation would put a user's personal information at risk.   read more

Crossroads GPS has drawn heavy scrutiny — and critics have said it is taking advantage of what amounts to a loophole in campaign finance rules. The group calls itself a "social welfare" nonprofit that focuses on issues. By law it cannot spend a majority of its funds on political races. However, tax documents leave little question that Crossroads ramps up significantly in election years, with almost $70 million in contributions in 2014, with Senate and congressional seats at stake.   read more

Governments that make money off the products penalize women for their biology, some say. That perspective has picked up momentum, with at least five U.S. states dumping the taxes. Pennsylvania and Minnesota are among states that have eliminated the taxes. A handful of other states, including California, have seen similar proposals before their legislatures this year. In Wisconsin, a Democratic lawmaker has proposed providing free tampons in all public buildings.   read more

Georgia is the only state that allows the officer's unchallenged statement at the end of a grand jury session,. In some other states, a prosecutor can call the officer as a witness, but the officer is subject to questions and can't listen to the other testimony. The law has drawn criticism, especially as police use of force cases face increasing scrutiny nationwide. Critics argue the law gives an officer an unfair advantage and makes it extremely difficult to indict an officer.   read more

Two panelists work for the Center for Practical Bioethics, which receives funding from multiple drugmakers, including OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, which donated $100,000 in 2013. One panelist holds a chair at the center created by a $1.5-million donation from Purdue. The other received more than $8,660 in speaking fees, meals, travel and other payments from pain drugmakers. The legislation creating the panel was championed for years by drugmakers.   read more

The Quicken Loans ad asks what would happen if the Internet “did for mortgages what the Internet did for buying music, plane tickets and shoes,” then showing a woman getting a home mortgage with the press of a button on her phone. If taken too literally, this could get people in trouble. A home mortgage is the biggest financial obligation most people will take on. If you buy the wrong music, plane ticket or shoes, it’s probably not a crippling financial burden, where the wrong mortgage can be.   read more

Philip Morris and other cigarette makers will soon be required to make public statements about the health effects of smoking, after a federal judge called the companies' rewrite request "ridiculous - a waste of precious time, energy, and money for all concerned - and a loss of information for the public." Judge Kessler rejected the cigarette makers' proposals, including the tobacco companies' desire to completely remove their names from the statements.   read more

"If we brought mortality from car crashes, firearm injuries and drug poisonings down to levels that we see in these other countries, we'd gain about a year of life expectancy," said lead author Andrew Fenelon. The injury data include accidental and intentional deaths and suicides, and deaths from prescription medications and illicit drugs. The study bolsters the argument that improving U.S. life expectancy will require addressing premature deaths among younger ages   read more