Trump administration blocks changes on coal mining royalties

The Interior Department has put on hold changes to how the federal government values huge volumes of coal extracted from public lands, primarily in the Western United States, after mining companies challenged the agency in federal court. The move by the Trump administration means current rules governing the industry will remain in place pending decisions in the courts, according to an agency notification due to be published Monday in the Federal Register.

Angry Constituents Are Saving America From Trump And We Are Here For It

Across these United States, Americans young and old are confronting their representative Republican lawmakers face to face at town hall meetings , and opening up a powerful can of civic engagement whoop-ass. It's so beautiful.

GOP members of Congress meet with protests at town halls

Cleone Hermsen, of Carroll, Iowa, expresses her criticism while listening to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, during a veterans roundtable event at Maquoketa City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Iowa's U.S. senators were met Tuesday with overflow crowds who pointedly questioned them about President Donald Trump's actions during his first month in office and other issues.

Marco Rubio, GOP Senators Won’t Let Elizabeth Warren Read a Coretta Scott King Letter

Elizabeth Warren stepped onto the Senate floor last night with a simple plan: Read a letter by the late civil rights icon Coretta Scott King criticizing attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. Given Sessions' incendiary record on racial justice, King's opinion was quite relevant to the debate on whether he should be America's top law enforcement official.

Republicans vote to rebuke Elizabeth Warren, saying she impugned Sessions’s character

In a Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 file photo, Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. questions Defense Secretary-designate James Mattis on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the committee's confirmation hearing for Mattis.

Montana Lawmakers Unite To Denounce Neo-Nazi Rally Plans

Top Montana Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Tuesday warned neo-Nazis they would find "no safe haven" for a rally that could include guns planned for next month in a mountain town where white nationalists have threatened Jewish residents. The lawmakers include both Democrats and U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke, recently picked by Republican President-elect Donald Trump to be interior secretary.

License issued for $1B Montana power storage project

A Montana company has been granted a license to build a $1 billion, 400-megawatt power storage project in the central part of the state that would supplement electricity from wind turbines and other sources, according to documents released Thursday by federal regulators. The 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows Absaroka Energy, of Bozeman, Montana, to construct and operate the project on a 177-acre site near the tiny town of Martinsdale, home to fewer than 100 people.

Republicans slam eased restrictions on business with Iran

Republican lawmakers already leery of the Iran nuclear deal railed at new US Treasury Department guidelines indicating foreign companies will not be sanctioned for doing business with Iranian entities. The updated guidelines , which were published last Friday, allow for business dealings inside Iran so long as the US financial system and Americans are not involved.

Plagiarism Talk Rises As Trump Powers Toward GOP Prize

Donald Trump's campaign on Tuesday tried to brush off charges of plagiarism and recover quickly from an unforced stumble as he advanced within steps of officially seizing the Republican nomination for president.

Large number of GOP senators skipping Trump’s convention

In this July 7, 2015, file photo, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, A large number of GOP senators are skipping next week's convention in Cleveland, citing a range of prior commitments, from fly-fishing to lawn-mowing. Although a majority of the Republican senators do plan to attend, the level of absenteeism is high as Donald Trump prepares to claim the Republican Party's nomination.

White House says coal royalty hike would have modest effect

A sharp increase in royalties paid by companies extracting U.S.-owned coal would trigger only modest mining reductions, according to a White House report that refutes claims the Western coal industry would be decimated by proposed reforms. The report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers comes after new sales of federal coal leases were halted in January.