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

Nonprofit groups that aren’t supposed to have politics as their primary purpose have reportedly put $63 million into ads and other efforts to influence the outcome of the 2014 midterm races, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), which tracks electoral spending. Mother Jones’ Andy Kroll pointed out that this amount nearly matches the $69 million in dark money that was spent during the entire 2008 presidential campaign.   read more

Botticelli ran afoul of Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) during a Congressional subcommittee hearing. Blumenauer, who is hoping to change marijuana’s status as a Schedule I narcotic, asked Botticelli which is more dangerous, marijuana or methamphetamine. Botticelli wouldn’t give a straight answer and Blumenauer chastised him, "If the deputy director of the office of drug policy can't answer that question how do you expect high school kids to take you seriously?”   read more

The majority of accidental shooting deaths of children are performed by other children. In 73% of the cases, the shooter was age 14 or under. The shooters and victims are also overwhelmingly men and boys: 82% of shooters and 77% of victims were male. The deaths also usually occurred in familiar surroundings. Sixty-one percent were in the victim’s home, with 10% in a relative’s home, 10% in a friend’s home and 3% in a relative’s car.   read more

Acting VA Inspector General Richard Griffin stood by the report, while saying its wording allowed for the possibility that care delays caused the deaths. “A careful reading would show that in some of those cases, we say that they might have lived longer,” Griffin said. The admission could make it a bit easier for those who have filed suit against the VA for the deaths, particularly for cases that don’t go to trial.   read more

Cisco sold a system called “Golden Shield” to the Chinese government, touting its ability to uniquely identify members of Falun Gong and as “the only product capable of recognizing over 90% of Falun Gong pictorial information,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Cisco’s presentation also included offering features to persecute “Falun Gong evil religion,” which should have been a tip-off that human rights violations were at issue.   read more

He returned to Iraq in 2008 as deputy commanding general for support of the 25th Infantry Division. Brown went to Germany in 2010 as chief of staff of the United States Army in Europe and deputy commander, U.S. Army NATO. After that, he was named commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning in Georgia. His most recent assignment was as commanding general of I Corps and aenior Army commander for Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.   read more

Much of Anthony’s career has been spent in Latin America. One posting had him serving as special forces and counter-narcotics advisor along the Ecuador-Colombia border. While there, he served as a liaison for an Air Force medical team performing plastic surgery on Ecuadorans with deformities such as cleft palate and burn scars. He was also Army section chief in Guatemala and his last assignment was as the commander of the U.S. Military Group in Nicaragua.   read more

A new study produced by the Guttmacher Institute says the rate of women receiving contraception through their private health insurance at no cost to them jumped from 15% in 2012 to 67% by the spring of this year. The Affordable Care Act included a provision that required companies to include contraception coverage in their health plans.   read more

“With some team members dressed in ballistic vests and masks, and with guns drawn, the deputies rushed into their target destinations, handcuffed the stunned occupants—and demanded to see their barbers’ licenses,” the court wrote. The raid was one of several deputies carried out against minority-owned barbershops and salons in 2010.   read more

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 8-1 that concerns about “upskirting” or “downblousing” cannot trump the rights of free speech under the First Amendment. Such photography, the justices wrote, is “inherently expressive” and therefore protected just like paintings, movies and books. The challenge to the law came from Ronald Thompson, who was charged with 26 counts of improper photography when he took underwater pictures of children swimming at a San Antonio water park.   read more

In 2010, as chairman of the Audit Commission of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficientcy, he was called in to audit the auditors—investigating the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. He found the office was out of compliance with some of its audit policies and recommended corrective action. Rymer maintained the dual roles at the FDIC and SEC until being nominated for the Department of Defense post.   read more

In February 2013, Ray B. Shepherd, a former Air Force public affairs officer, was named Director of Defense Media Activity, which handles public relations for the Armed Forces. One of the most controversial issues since Shepherd has been at Defense Media Activity is the consideration of cuts to Stars & Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper (and now website) aimed at the Armed Forces, due to sequestration. So far, the newspaper is hanging in there.   read more

Internally, insurers are classifying both brand name and generic drugs as “non-preferred,” which results in all drugs for these patients costing more money through higher co-pays. This effectively drives patients away from a plan because it is too expensive, but the insurer gets away with legally claiming it does not discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions.   read more

Israeli training of U.S. police has also influenced the type of equipment being used. Security forces from both countries are now using some identical gear, including stun and tear gas grenades manufactured by the same U.S. companies—Combined Systems Inc. and Defense Technology Corp. A long-range “sound rifle” that emits ear-shattering noise to disperse crowds, which was used against 2005 West Bank protestors, was also used in the recent police action against protestors in Ferguson.   read more

Lawmakers embraced an important change that would force the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exempt public companies making less than $250 million a year from filing their financial statements electronically.   read more

This year, North Carolina alone has collected nearly $20 million in the revenues generated by gun and ammo sales—a three-fold increase since 2007. The money has allowed state officials to expand the number of public shooting ranges from one to four, with three more in development. The tax revenue has compensated for cuts in state spending and provided funds for new roads, signs and parking lots.   read more