Connelly: Inslee finds ally in Victoria gov. against massive proposed oil pipeline

Governor Jay Inslee is co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance. He is critical of planned Canadian pipeline, which would send 34 tankers a month through international waters of the Salish Sea shared by Washington and British Columbia.

2nd woman accuses Sen. Al Franken of improper conduct

In this June 21, 2017 file photo, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., listens at a committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington. A second woman has accused Minnesota Sen. Al Franken of inappropriate touching, saying Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 that he put his hand on her bottom as they posed for a picture at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010, after he had begun his career in the Senate.

Nebraska gives long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline new life

Nebraska regulators Monday approved a Keystone XL oil pipeline route through the state, breathing new life into the long-delayed $8 billion project, although the chosen pathway is not the one preferred by the company that hopes to build it and could mean more time is needed to study the changes. The Nebraska Public Service Commission's vote also is likely to face court challenges and may even require another federal analysis of the route, if the project's opponents get their way.

Democratic candidate apologizes for boast of bedding 50 hotties

William O'Neill said he was sorry to his family, friends and "thousands of strangers" who were hurt by his Facebook post on Friday in which he decided to "speak up on behalf of all heterosexual males" in light of critics calling for the resignation of Democratic US Sen. Al Franken after a woman accused him of groping her. "There comes a time in everyone's life when you have to admit you were wrong," O'Neill wrote .

Tax plan bad for Connecticut, for the debt, and for the middle-class

Connecticut's U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy must do more than stand united with fellow Democrats in seeking to block a tax reform bill that would be bad for Connecticut and for many middle-income taxpayers, while exploding the national debt. They and their fellow members of the loyal opposition must offer alternative tax relief ideas that are more fiscally responsible.

States Face Children’s Health Coverage Uncertainty

Oregon governor Kate Brown recently wrote to her state's two Democratic senators warning that federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program will run out in December. About two months after federal funding lapsed for the Children's Health Insurance Program, state officials still don't know exactly when they'll run out of money or when Congress will renew funding - leaving families that depend on the program increasingly anxious about their benefits.

On Capitol Hill, few name names on sexual harassment

But perhaps tellingly, the woman who came forward with allegations, Leeann Tweeden, is not a member of the Capitol Hill community. In the House and Senate, lawmakers and staffers alike say sexual harassment is a common problem that makes Congress no different from other industries roiled in recent weeks by documented cases of harassment and even assault.

Al Franken’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ era was full of jokes disparaging women

The photo that emerged last week of the senior senator from Minnesota pawing the breasts of a sleeping woman was heinous, but it wasn't unfamiliar. Nor was the mugging grin on Al Franken's face as he grabbed her, or his initial response that he was trying to be funny.

House Veterans committee chairman takes oversight on the road

The last stop for Tennessee Rep. Phil Roe before heading home for Thanksgiving was Little Rock, where the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs promised quick action on legislation increasing veterans' private-sector health care options. Despite concerns about cost, privatization and the influence of outside parties - such as the conservative Koch political network - Roe said Monday that the committee has come to a consensus on the Veterans Choice program and will likely advance legislation after the weeklong holiday break.

Ohio governor candidate issues second apology for remarks about sexual history

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill on Sunday issued a second apology for his controversial remarks in which he defended Sen. "There comes a time in everyone's life when you have to admit you were wrong," O'Neill, a Democrat running for Ohio governor, wrote in a Facebook post. "I am sorry.

Senator Al Franken cut from PBS David Letterman tribute

PBS and WETA say Minnesota U.S. Senator Al Franken will not appear substantially in David Letterman's Mark Twain Prize special airing Monday night. Representatives said Sunday that PBS will air an updated version of the previously filmed event in which Franken will only be visible at the end of the show when the cast joins Letterman on stage.

10 African Americans named Rhodes scholars, most ever

In this Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, file photo, Cadet Simone Askew, of Fairfax, Va., who has been selected first captain of the U.S. Military Academy Corps of Cadets for the upcoming academic year, answers questions during a news conference, in West Point, NY. Askew earned another prestigious honor Sunday, Nov. 19, when she was one of 32 Americans awarded Rhodes scholarships to study at Oxford University in England.

Trump says he should have left UCLA players in Chinese prison

President Donald Trump says he should have left three American basketball players who had been detained in China on suspicion of shoplifting in jail, after the father of one of the players questioned the President's role in their release. "Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal," Mr Trump wrote.

Dick Polman: Roy Moore Aside, What About Bill Clinton?

Left-leaning Americans who are rightfully repulsed by Roy Moore , and who were similarly steamed in 2016 about President Donald Trump's gropey braggadocio, need to acknowledge that President Bill Clinton also rates a place in that Hall of Infamy. Lest we forget, feminists and Democratic activists in the late 1990s mostly stayed mute, defended, or excused Clinton's notorious workplace behavior .