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

Alidou's focus is on promoting the early education of African students in their indigenous language, rather than the colonial language such as French or English as is the case now. As part of that work, Alidou consults on bi/multilingual and mother tongue education in Africa for the UNESCO Institute for Education. She was the regional director of UNESCO in Abuja, Nigeria.   read more

The death of Freddie Gray last month while in police custody in Baltimore has put a spotlight on a Maryland state law that critics say allows police officers avoid being held accountable for abuse and other violations. Known as the “police officers’ bill of rights,” the laws in 14 states grant law enforcement special treatment not afforded to non-police accused of crimes. The statute allows officers to wait 10 days before talking to investigators and limits the time officers can be questioned.   read more

The American-German cooperation went on for at least a decade. The news is embarrassing for Merkel, who was vocal about the NSA tapping her phone calls. “You don’t spy on your friends,” she said at the time. But Germany’s intelligence agency did just that by sharing intelligence gathered from its “eavesdropping facility in Bavaria to monitor email and telephone traffic at the Élysée Palace, the offices of the French president, and of key EU institutions,” said The Guardian.   read more

One study warns that rising global temperatures could kill off one out of every six plant and animal species worldwide. If the temperature increase is 7.7 degrees, the loss of species could jump to 16%. Another study warned that a temperature increase of five degrees Fahrenheit could produce a 62-fold increase in heat extremes. "What used to be a one-in-1,000-days event or a one-in-three-years event becomes, for instance, a four-in-three-year or five-in-three-year event,” said Erich Fischer.   read more

Since taking over as ambassador, Akuong has had to contend with the U.S.-initiated threat to impose sanctions, through the United Nations Security Council, against South Sudan unless President Kiir and Machar can come to terms to end a civil war which began in December 2013 and has killed ten thousand and displaced an estimated 1.5 million citizens.   read more

Djerdj Matković assumed the position of Serbia’s ambassador to the United States on February 21, 2015, after the post had been vacant for 18 months. In August 2012, Matković began advising Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić on foreign policy issues and continued to do so when Vucic was elevated to prime minister in 2014. Matković was Vučić’s main advisor during the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, keeping Serbia on a narrow path between Russia and the United States.   read more

The seven whistleblowers also urged Congress to adopt legislation, the Surveillance State Repeal Act, which would end the Patriot Act and roll back government surveillance on Americans’ personal lives. They also criticized the administrations of President Barack Obama and George W. Bush for trying to punish whistleblowers.   read more

Defense Reform Consensus, a group of 38 analysts from a list of think tanks representing all parts of the political spectrum, say the government should close more military bases and reduce the number of civilians who work for the Defense Department, among other recommendations.   read more

The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, which cleared the House 240-179 on a nearly party-line vote, would amount to a $334 billion tax break for 25 of the nation’s billionaires. Republicans insist they just want to prevent mom-and-pop companies and family farms from being affected by the tax, although the GOP hasn’t been able to produce one such example.   read more

During the 2014 midterms, 31,976 donors (out of 323 million people) were responsible for pouring $1.18 billion in disclosed political contributions at the federal level. And that doesn’t even include dark money that was spent through the use of loopholes in federal tax laws that allow the uber-rich to avoid revealing certain contributions.   read more

Dr. Micah Young was dean of health sciences and career programs at Malcolm X College until February 4, when he was fired for “alleged performance issues.” But Young claims the firing had more to do with his report of the discovery last summer of four decomposing bodies in an unrefrigerated walk-in safe on campus.   read more

A court ruling that legalizes same-sex marriages would allow GOP candidates to publicly decry the decision, giving their conservative supporters what they want to hear. But it would also allow them to concentrate on other issues instead of continually defining themselves as socially intolerant leaders whose views are unacceptable to millennials, the next generation of voters. If they can’t change this perception, the consequences to them could be even worse in the years ahead.   read more

The Wall Street Journal has reported Obama “secretly approved a waiver” that gave the CIA “more flexibility in Pakistan than anywhere else to strike suspected militants.” That may have cost two hostages, American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto, their lives. “If the exemption had not been in place for Pakistan, the CIA might have been required to gather more intelligence before that strike,” Adam Entous reported in the Journal.   read more

“Francis sullies his office by using demagogic formulations to bully the populace into reflexive climate action with no more substantive guide than theologized propaganda," wrote Maureen Mullarkey."Pope Francis...would do his flock and the world a disservice by putting his moral authority behind the United Nations’ unscientific agenda on the climate," said Joseph Bast, president of the Koch brothers-funded Heartland Institute.   read more

At least a dozen people protesting the decision not to prosecute the police who killed Eric Garner were detained by the NYPD. They later said they were questioned about their political associations and other matters related to their involvement in street protests. The interrogations could have a chilling effect on Americans lawfully exercising their right to protest and may also put the department in violation of a 1985 consent decree that came out of a federal court case.   read more

Tyson’s move “sends a message to other producers that the tides are turning,” said Nicole McCann, director of food campaigns for advocacy group Green America. The move also makes good business sense. Eighty-six percent of consumers support the availability of drug-free meats in grocery stores, according to the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Next, Tyson plans to talk to its suppliers of beef, pork and turkey about eliminating antibiotic use in their meat.   read more