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Category Archives: Law
Trump’s EPA Will Update Decades-Old Regulation To Keep Lead Out Of Water
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering an update to a decades-old regulation that would help prevent lead from leaching into drinking water. EPA Chief Scott Pruitt invited a slew of groups representing states to discuss possible provisions next year to the so-called Lead and Copper Rule.
GOP Tax Plan Keeps Green Energy, Electric Car Subsidies
The House and Senate agreed Thursday to scrap a proposal eliminating a large tax credit the electric vehicle market and other green energy companies rely on to keep the fledgling industry afloat. Lawmakers spared a $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credit and a wind production tax credit that Republicans nixed to balance out the hefty tax bill, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday.
George Will: The Republicans’ tax wager is worth the gamble
The Republicans' tax legislation is built on economic projections that are as confidently as they are cheerfully made concerning the legislation's shaping effect on the economy over the next 10 years.
Political theater on guns not the answer
Sen. Dianne Feinstein points to a photograph of a rifle with a "bump stock" during a news conference to announce proposed gun control legislation at the U.S. Capitol October 4, 2017 in Washington, D.C. One of the worst tendencies of politicians in the aftermath of a tragedy is the hijacking of public sentiment to promote sweeping proposals to expand government power. A recent case in point is a proposed ban on "assault weapons" after the tragic shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
EPA chemical safety nominee drops out amid strong opposition
President Donald Trump's pick to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew his nomination Wednesday after bipartisan opposition made his Senate confirmation unlikely. Officials at the White House and the Senate told The Associated Press that Michael Dourson had sent a letter asking his name to be removed from consideration to serve as head of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
‘Civil rights champion’ wins senate seat over accused child molester
Doug Jones, the Democrat who pulled off a stunning upset victory in Alabama's nail-biter Senate contest on Tuesday, is considered a champion for civil rights in a state that played a seminal role in the 1960s movement for racial equality. Jones' supporters erupted in cheers and jubilation as it became clear their portly, balding candidate had become the first Alabama Democrat to win a US Senate seat in 25 years.
Letters to the Editor for Dec. 13
According to Patrick Wilson's article, 5th District Congressman Tom Garrett and 7th District Congressman David Brat do not like the way newspapers are covering the tax debate in Congress.
The aftermath of Alabama
Quin Hillyer, a conservative columnist who once had a stint at the D-G, offers a tough post mortem in the New York Times: Donald Trump and Steve Bannon are politically impotent. The president and his former grand strategist threw considerable weight behind Roy Moore, the polarizing Republican Senate candidate in Alabama.
5 years after Sandy Hook, mental health care worries linger
Five years after the Sandy Hook massacre, efforts to improve mental health care for young people have had mixed results.
Things to know about Alabama’s new US senator, Doug Jones
Doug Jones, a Democrat who once prosecuted two Ku Klux Klansmen in a deadly church bombing and has now broken the Republican lock grip on Alabama, is the state's new US senator. Jones, 63, grew up in the working-class city of Fairfield, just west of Birmingham, an area where steel mills once belched smoke that left a rust-colored haze hanging over the metro area.
U.S. judge questions Trump administration on birth control rules
A U.S. judge questioned on Tuesday whether the federal government properly formulated new rules that undermine an Obamacare requirement for employers to provide insurance that covers women's birth control. New rules from the Department of Health and Human Services announced in October let businesses or non-profit organizations lodge religious or moral objections to obtain an exemption from the Obamacare law's mandate that most employers provide contraceptives coverage in health insurance with no co-payment.
Joins CWA Call for $4,000 Wage Increase for Working People
The Donald Trump administration repeatedly has claimed that its tax bill would result in a $4,000 wage increase for working people. Today, the AFL-CIO has joined a campaign by the Communications Workers of America to demand corporations guarantee this raise in writing.
Voting underway in contentious Alabama Senate race
Alabama voters headed to the polls Tuesday for a pivotal special election in which allegations of inappropriate behavior against Republican candidate Roy Moore have created a unique opportunity for Democrats in the typically ruby-red Deep South. The closely watched race between Moore and Democrat Doug Jones is expected to set the stage for the 2018 midterm elections by testing the influence of President Donald Trump and his allies, such as former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, in a tight election.
Republicans considering bumping corporate rate to 21 percent in tax plan as deal nears
House Speaker Paul Ryan arrives at a news conference regarding tax legislation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 12, 2017. Ryan here praised a one-page study released Monday by the Treasury Department showing the tax plan more than paying for itself, but only if high growth forecasts are met and if other Trump administration economic policies proposals are enacted.
Arkansas panel clears way for new Ten Commandments marker
An Arkansas commission cleared the way Tuesday for the installation of another Ten Commandments monument outside the state Capitol, after a prior marker was shattered when a man crashed his car into the monolith than 24 hours after it was put in place. The Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission signed off on the final design, which will include four concrete posts for the monument's protection.
Increase in lawsuits on sex-based workplace harassment
More than 3,500 federal civil lawsuits related to harassment in the workplace have been filed so far this year, an increase over 2016, according to Lex Machina, a Menlo Park analytics firm that tracks litigation. Federal data show that the number of sex-based-harassment complaints filed in 2016 increased from the prior year.
Charles Brown Jr. among those honored for long legal careers
It was a weekday afternoon and John R. Milligan was hopeful he would find time to fly his drone before daylight was exhausted. Fun with drones is among the fruits of retirement for the former judge.
Susman Godfrey Once Again Crushes Cravath’s Average Associate Bonuses
Susman Godfrey , the Houston-based litigation boutique that has repeatedly made news during associate bonus season, is once again paying year-end associate bonuses that far exceed the market-setting scale set by Cravath, Swaine & Moore . The firm, which has a total of 47 associates and 130 lawyers in its offices located in Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York, announced Monday it will pay associates median bonuses ranging from $45,000 to $170,000, with two associates who were exceptionally successful in business development receiving bonuses that total more than $220,000.
Trump to make case for GOP tax overhaul
President Trump will deliver a closing argument for the proposed Republican tax overhaul in a speech Wednesday, the same day that House and Senate conferees are to begin work on a blended bill. The president will deliver the speech in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plan who wasn't authorized to speak about it publicly.