The True Cost of Israel

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee concluded its annual conference late last month, triggering the usual debate in various alternative media outlets. Why does so much U.S. taxpayer money go to a small and not particularly useful client state that has a vibrant European-level economy and is already a regional military colossus? Those who support the cash flow argue that Israel is threatened, most notably by Iran; they claim the assistance, which has been largely but not completely used to buy American-made weapons, is required to maintain a qualitative edge over the country's potential enemies.

El Faro widow turns anguish into mission for safer ships

Rochelle Hamm's eyes fill with tears when she reads her terrified husband's last words - uttered as the cargo freighter El Faro went down in hurricane, taking the lives of Frank Hamm and 32 others. A few lines later, the transcript ends, along with the lives of Hamm and the captain who desperately sought to save him.

Key US senator pushes back against Trump’s proposed foreign aid cuts

Senator Bob Corker, center, speaks to recent refugees from South Sudan at a registration center in Bidi Bidi, Uganda, Friday, April 14 2017. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, strongly defended U.S. foreign assistance on Friday while visiting the world's fastest growing refugee crisis in northern Uganda, just across the border from war-torn South Sudan.

Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast promise they won’t sell your browsing history

Senate Republican leaders Senator Roger Wicker, John Barrasso, Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc Connell and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn take questions from the media regarding the upcoming budget battle on Capitol Hill In a big blow to the privacy of American internet users, President Donald Trump has signed a resolution to repeal the FCC rules that forced the ISPs to seek customers' consent before selling their browsing information. Lawmakers voted March 30 to overturn Federal Communication Commission rules that would have required Internet service providers to get customers permission before collecting data on web-browsing and app usage.

West Linn residents travel to D.C. to lend voice for the forgotten

Ninety percent of brain development occurs before the age of 5. Only 1 percent of the United States budget is typically allocated to foreign aid. The teens recited those facts, among many others, on behalf of the Save The Children Network in Washington D.C. at the annual Invest In Kids Advocacy Summit March 26-28.

AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

The U.S. commander in Afghanistan who ordered use of the "mother of all bombs" to attack an Islamic State stronghold near the Pakistani border didn't need and didn't request President Donald Trump's approval, Pentagon officials said Friday. The officials said that even before Trump took office in January, Gen.

April 21 date set for Sen. Bernie Sanders rally in Utah

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the overwhelming pick of Utah Democrats in last year's presidential caucus vote, will hold a rally in Salt Lake City on April 21, the Utah Democratic Party said Thursday. Earlier this week, the national party announced Utah was one of the stops Sanders and new Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez would make on their multi-state "Come Together and Fight Back" tour.

WashPost’s Hornaday: ‘Tech-Savvy’ Obama Responsibly…

Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday penned a column for Friday's paper reviewing President Trump's first 100 days as if it were a movie, blasting him as dangerous for using friendly outlets to distract from his administration lacking any "core, coherent polic[ies]" that could end in "a train wreck." On the flip side, the liberal journalists swooned over Trump predecessors like John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, defending their use of the media to push their agendas because "those presidents were also readers, sometimes even bona fide scholars, their references rooted in an understanding of history, political theory, economics and literature."

US Senator Pushes Back Against Trump’s Proposed Foreign Aid Cuts

Face-to-face with victims of South Sudan's famine and civil war, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee strongly defended U.S. foreign aid on Friday despite President Donald Trump's proposed deep cuts in humanitarian assistance. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee visited the world's fastest-growing refugee crisis in northern Uganda, just across the border from South Sudan, in a pointed response to Trump's "America First" platform that would slash funds for diplomacy and foreign aid.

Perez touts unity tour with Sanders

"That's why I'm hitting the road next week with Sen. Bernie Sanders to speak with folks across the country about how we can come together and fight back for our values," he added. "As President Trump retreats to the golf course while his 100th day in office approaches, Bernie and I will be talking directly to voters about how the Democratic Party is fighting for you."

Former Senator Barbara Boxer speaks at USC

With the Trump administration set to slash the Environmental Protection Agency's budget by 31 percent, many recent environmental protections may be in jeopardy. This development has worried politicians such as Sen. Barbara Boxer, who spoke at Bovard Auditorium on Thursday as the keynote speaker for the Environmental Student Assembly's Earth Month.

How Mitch McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat

To the editor: Isn't it ironic that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell single handedly decided who should serve on the Supreme Court by blocking Merrick Garland from being considered after he was nominated in 2016 by President Obama and then invoking the nuclear option to confirm Neil Gorsuch , all in an effort to replace the strict constructionist Antonin Scalia with another strict constructionist, Gorsuch? One would think that a strict constructionist would find McConnell's actions questionable, as McConnell essentially dissolved the separation of power between the three branches of our government. Please fill in your full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address below.

Analysis: Trump risks turning Breitbart into an enemy by sidelining Bannon – Fri, 14 Apr 2017 PST

The seeds of Breitbart's resentment were sown months before President Donald Trump cut down chief strategist Stephen Bannon this week. Now the question is whether the hard-right news site that cheered Trump to victory - and sent Bannon, its former chairman, to the White House - will turn on the president.