New Democrats hear Leap Manifesto push on eve of convention

New Democrats and others were presented with an unapologetically radical vision of Canadian politics Thursday, as they sought to tap into the magic that helped create the "insurgent campaigns" of Bernie Sanders in the U.S. and Jeremy Corbyn of Britain. The vision was presented at an event organized by the same people who brought the Leap Manifesto, a controversial treatise that calls for a dramatic transformation of the Canadian economy - and which has caused deep rifts within the NDP.

no Deal: Senate hits immigration deadlock on Daca, Dreamers

Unable to find an acceptable middle ground on the politically explosive issue of immigration, and the future of well over a million illegal immigrant "Dreamers," Senators of both parties on Thursday voted to filibuster a pair of plans from each side, as a high profile legislative effort achieved only failure. "This is it.

Ideas to redraw maps beat deadline in gerrymandering case

FILE - In this June 30, 2015, file photo, front from left to right, Pennsylvania state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, state House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, state Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Je... . FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2016, file photo, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., left, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., center left, and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., right, watch as President-elect Donald Trump, center right, departs... It's deadline day in Pennsylvania's gerrymandering case for Gov. Tom Wolf and others to submit maps of new congressional district boundaries that they want the state Supreme Court to adopt.

Key senator to stop blocking US arms sales to Persian Gulf Source: AP

The United States is poised to let Persian Gulf nations resume buying American-made lethal weapons after a key U.S. senator said he would stop blocking the sales, even though the Qatar diplomatic crisis that prompted the freeze is no closer to being resolved. Last year, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said he was putting a "blanket hold" on sales to Gulf Cooperation Council countries, aiming to put pressure on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others to resolve their dispute.

Critics blast EPA for lowering Syngenta pesticide fine Source: AP

Critics are blasting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for dramatically lowering a fine on agribusiness company Syngenta for violations of pesticide regulations. Syngenta, under a settlement announced this week, will pay $150,000 for improperly using the pesticide chlorpyrifos at a seed corn field in Hawaii in 2016 and 2017.

‘Dreamers’ left in limbo as Senate rejects immigration bills

The Senate has blocked a bipartisan proposal that would have provided 1.8 million young immigrants a chance for citizenship and $25 billion for a border wall. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., flanked by, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., left, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, discuss the bipartisan immigration deal they reached during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018.

Bannon interviewed for 20 hours in Mueller probe, as House investigators’ get stonewalled

Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, arrives for questioning by the House Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into meddling in the U.S. elections by Russia, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2018. Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, arrives for questioning by the House Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into meddling in the U.S. elections by Russia, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2018.

a Dreamersa left in limbo as Senate rejects immigration bills new

The Senate left hundreds of thousands of "Dreamer" immigrants in limbo Thursday, rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nation's border security. Senators dealt President Donald Trump an especially galling defeat as more than a quarter of fellow Republicans abandoned him on an issue that helped propel him to the White House.

Blue Cross submits plans to comply with new requirements

Blue Cross of Idaho submitted to Idaho insurance regulators a set of health insurance plans that it hopes to sell under Gov. Butch Otter's executive order. The Idaho Statesman reports Blue Cross submitted its five plans on Tuesday after the executive order required Idaho insurers to create "state-based" health plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act.

Trump administration wary about bipartisan Senate immigration plan

President Donald Trump's administration stuck to its hardline immigration approach on Thursday and suggested it would not support a bipartisan U.S. Senate proposal to protect young "Dreamer" immigrants and tighten border security. The Department of Homeland Security dismissed the plan, which would protect from deportation 1.8 million young adults who were brought to the United States illegally as children, saying it did not meet Trump's minimum criteria for immigration legislation.

Wildstar’s IN for Governor! And Other Filings and Schatzle-Dumar News

I come bearing good news for Libertarian Party die-hards: you've found your party's candidate for Governor and you can stop looking around now. His name is Nickolas Wildstar and he's at the top of the OC Registrar of Voters Candidate Filing Log for Feb. 13 ; he's a black rapper from the 626, an apparent Rand Paul follower, and if I catch his drift an apparent cannabis devotee - and if I can't convince you to vote for a Democrat he's certainly going to be preferable to any Republican on the ballot.

APNewsBreak: Senator to stop blocking some DOJ jobs over pot

20, 2017 file photo, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Gardner used his power as a senator to freeze all nominations to the... WASHINGTON - Colorado's Republican U.S. senator will stop blocking nominees for some Justice Department jobs over concerns about the marijuana industry, saying Thursday that federal officials have shown good faith in recent conversations on the department's pot policy.

17 massacred in Florida school, ex-student charged with murder

Washington, Feb 15 - A 19-year-old returned to the high school which had ousted him for indiscipline in the US state of Florida and went on a shooting spree, slaughtering 17 students and teachers in one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. Nikolas Cruz escaped after the bloodbath but was caught an hour later in the neighbouring Coral Spring city and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, the New York Times said.