"During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military officials recognized that the blast wave from a roadside bomb could damage a person's brain without leaving any visible sign of injury. And in 2010, the Pentagon issued a memo outlining steps to improve care of troops exposed to these explosions."
"Since then, there's been growing evidence that blasts from weapons like the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and the AT4 anti-tank weapon can also affect the brain."
"Sgt. John Wagley fires an AT4 anti-tank missile during a training session at Camp Fuji, in Japan. Studies find that some who fire these weapons repeatedly have short-term problems with memory and thinking. It's still not clear, scientists say, whether those temporary changes can lead to permanent deficits."
"If you're looking at a large anti-tank rocket that a soldier would carry on his or her shoulder, that's now a pretty large explosion — and it's happening right next to your head." Scharre says."
A state lawmaker from New York City has authored a bill that would end riflery, trap shooting and archery as a sport in public schools. Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, a Democrat who represents the 67th Assembly District in western Manhattan, introduced the bill on April 20. At this point, there is no co-sponsor for it in the state Senate. The bill, A10428, which was sent to the Assembly's Education Committee, would amend the state's Education Law and calls for the "prohibition of marksmanship and/or shooting programs in public schools" - a change that "shall take effect immediately." Rosenthal's bill, covering "marksmanship and/or shooting programs," includes "any competitive or recreational shooting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in using various types of ranged weapons, such as firearms and air gun, in forms such as handguns, rifles and shotguns and/or bows or crossbows."
"Republicans are planning to use the deficits created by their own tax cuts to slash the social safety net—but they may end up setting the stage for tax hikes instead."
"Though the IRS has periodically upgraded its computing system, today’s system is still running the same code, which was written nearly 60 years ago. Most of it is in the Assembly programming language, which the IRS itself has described as “antiquated” and “inflexible.” Worse, the number of programmers who can understand and maintain the code behind the Individual Master File (IMF) dwindles with every passing year. According to the Government Accountability Office, the IMF and its business counterpart (the BMF) are the oldest computing systems used by the federal government. (The runner-up in this dubious contest is the software used to coordinate the nation’s nuclear weapons.)"
"Plans to replace the IMF with a twenty-first-century equivalent known as CADE (Customer Account Data Engine) have faltered. The transition is now well behind schedule. As a consequence, the likelihood of a catastrophic computer failure during tax season increases with every passing year. That may not pose quite the same danger as an errant missile, but the prospect of lost refund checks, unnecessary audits, and other errors suggests that the time has come to bring the IRS into the 21st century."
"In a competitive field of contestants, no single Cabinet member so fully, so unapologetically inhabits the swamp President Trump vowed to drain than Environmental Protection Administrator Scott Pruitt — which is about as far as his concern for wetlands goes. Oh sure, Pruitt’s not the only one to gorge on travel privileges, insisting on first-class flights, if you please. But he brews a uniquely toxic stew of personal entanglements with industries he regulates, extreme pro-polluter policies that mock the EPA’s mission, and — neatly encapsulated in a $43,000 soundproof privacy booth — contempt for the public he serves. A more functional White House would have sent this Swamp Thing packing long ago. Trump instead reportedly called Pruitt Monday to coo sweet encouragement in the face of calls for his resignation.
"Pork exports to China are smaller, but growing. Nationally, more than $660 million in pork — including “variety meats” like ears, hooves and organ meat — was exported to China last year, according to Tamara Nelsen, senior commodities director for the state farm bureau. Because those products are sold to smaller-budget, price-sensitive Chinese consumers, the tariffs could hurt demand and therefore pricing, Nelsen said."