With scant record, Supreme Court nominee elusive on abortion

Kavanaugh's record suggests he would vote to support abortion restrictions if he... Twice in the past year, Brett Kavanaugh offered glimpses of his position on abortion that strongly suggest he would vote to support restrictions if confirmed to the Supreme Court. One was in a dissent in the case of a 17-year-old migrant seeking to terminate her pregnancy.

Bill allowing more sea lions to be killed clears key hurdle

A bill that would make it easier to kill sea lions that gobble endangered salmon in the Columbia River has cleared a key committee in the U.S. Senate. The measure allows the federal government to issue permits to Washington, Idaho and Oregon, and several Pacific Northwest tribes, allowing up to 100 sea lions to be killed a year.

New Mexico research site gets US grant for climate research

A $6.4 million federal grant for a New Mexico research project will provide $6.4 million for work looking at how climate change affects arid land ecosystems. The five-year National Science Foundation grant to the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research site located in central New Mexico was announced Wednesday by U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich.

Lawrence O’Donnell: ‘The Trump Brainwashing Is Working’

Lawrence O'Donnell slammed Sen. Ted Cruz and the "brainwashed" others in the GOP who stood silently by as President Donald Trump had his "5th Avenue moment" on Twitter today. O'Donnell was referring to the fact this morning on Twitter, Trump tweeted out this: "This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.

3D-printed guns might be inevitable. But are they a practical weapon…

If gun rights activist Cody Wilson gets his way in his legal battle, soon anybody including convicted felons and the mentally ill with a few raw materials and access to an industrial 3D printer could build a plastic firearm, gun control advocates say. Tech experts and stakeholders in the gun control debate are divided on whether the emergence of 3D-printed plastic guns presents an immediate safety threat to U.S communities.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Why Trump isn’t fighting the bots

Here is the issue raised by Facebook's revelations this week about disinformation that we need to face squarely: The political interests of the president of the United States coincide with the purposes of foreign forces using social media to divide us along the lines of race and culture. President Trump's refusal to make combating Russian interference a high priority, despite warnings from inside his own administration about the dangers, is obviously a scandal.

Federal Funding Announced For Oyster Habitat Restoration In Choptank River

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded a $156,101 federal grant to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for a restoration project in the Choptank River. The project includes oyster restoration efforts that are meant to increase the population of native Eastern oysters in the Little Choptank River and Tred Avon River, as well as the installation of a living shoreline in the area surrounding Hambleton Island to address erosion and ensure coastal and community resilience.

Russians are already targeting Democrats again, and Congress…

The Russian government's efforts to spread disinformation, interfere, and hack US political campaigns did not end with the 2016. While meddling and other nefarious activity have continued into the 2018 election cycle, including an attempted hacking of a Senate campaign, the Republicans tasked with countering the Russians are not doing nearly enough, lawmakers say.

Obama backs Gavin Newsom, other California Democrats – but…

Then-President Barack Obama laughs while being greeted by then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in May 2010. Then-President Barack Obama laughs while being greeted by then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in May 2010.

The Rubio-Wagner Bills Help Workers by Modernizing Social Security

Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Ann Wagner wrote in USA Today that they are introducing legislation to modernize our more than 80-year-old public pension system - Social Security - to make it more flexible and better able to meet the needs of today's workers. This is welcome news.

Congress sends defense bill with military pay raise to Trump Source: AP

The Senate on Wednesday gave final congressional approval to a $716 billion defense policy bill that would raise military pay by 2.6 percent, the largest pay hike in nine years. The compromise bill weakens a bid to clamp down on the Chinese telecom giant ZTE and allows the president to waive sanctions against countries that have bought Russian weapons but now want to buy U.S. military equipment.

Donnelly, Heller Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Seniors from Financial Abuse and Scams

U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly and Dean Heller introduced the bipartisan National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2018 today in the Senate. The proposal, which is aimed at protecting seniors from financial crimes and scammers, would create a dedicated task force within the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen protections for seniors who make investments.

Trump says Sessions should end Mueller investigation ‘right now’

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, should end special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference, arguing that the ongoing probe is hurting the United States. Although the President has repeatedly criticized the investigation and Sessions' decision to recuse himself from overseeing it, Trump's tweet that his attorney general "should stop" the probe is notable and raises fresh questions about whether the President is attempting to obstruct justice.

President Trump criticized for not leading effort to secure elections

As alarms blare about Russian interference in U.S. elections, the Trump administration is facing criticism that it has no clear national strategy to protect the country during the upcoming midterms and beyond. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the administration's response as fragmented, without enough coordination across federal agencies.

Trump called out for not leading effort to secure elections

As alarms blare about Russian interference in U.S. elections, the Trump administration is facing criticism that it has no clear national strategy to protect the country during the upcoming midterms and beyond. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the administration's response as fragmented, without enough coordination across federal agencies.

‘We are Q’: Conspiracy cult leaps from the internet to the…

"Tampa rally, live coverage," wrote "Dan," posting a link to President Donald Trump's Tampa speech in a thread on 8chan, an anonymous image board also known as Infinitechan or Infinitychan, which might be best described as the unglued twin of better-known 4chan, a message board already untethered from reality. The thread invited "requests to Q," an anonymous user claiming to be a government agent with top security clearance, waging war against the so-called deep state in service to the 45th president.