Top union offers backing for Ellison in DNC race

One of the country’s most powerful labor organizations is backing Rep. Keith Ellison for Democratic National Committee chairman, Politico reported Friday. The Service Employees International Union’s support isn’t a formal endorsement, but it is calling on its members who can vote for DNC chair to cast their votes for Ellison.

Schumer: Feds backtracking on puppy mills online reports

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer says the federal Department of Agriculture under President Donald Trump has backtracked on animal welfare by deleting an online database of inspection reports on animal facilities such as dog breeding centers. The New York Democrat says Friday that the database helped expose puppy mills and other inhumane facilities.

GOP bill would allow states to defund Planned Parenthood

The House voted Thursday to make it easier for states to deny federal family-planning funds to groups such as Planned Parenthood that also perform abortions. A rule imposed by the Obama administration says that states cannot deny funding to clinics for reasons unrelated to their ability to provide basic family planning services.

Farther Left or Farther Right?

There is a great public debate taking place among the intelligentsia, the political talking heads, and in written media concerning the relative positional/ideological shift of the two main parties. Barely a day goes by when one side or the other doesn’t say something along these lines: “Today’s Republicans have moved so far Right that there are no more ‘moderate’ Republicans and that’s why compromise is no longer possible.”

John Kerry to oversee global affairs initiative at Yale

Former Secretary of State John Kerry will oversee a new program at Yale University dedicated to addressing global challenges through teaching and research. Yale announced Thursday that he’ll lead the Kerry Initiative as the Ivy League institution’s first Distinguished Fellow for Global Affairs.

Jeff Sessions’ recusal demanded by Dems as lawmakers look for links between Moscow and Washington

Capitol Hill’s two leading Democrats called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself this week from any probes involving President Trump ‘s administration and its possible ties to the Russia government House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , California Democrat, said Wednesday that Mr. Sessions should be prohibited from overseeing any Justice Department investigations concerning the current White House and the Kremlin as reports emerge surrounding conversations said to have occurred between Moscow and Mr. Trump ‘s aides prior to the president’s swearing-in last month.

Rep. Betty McCollum’s Town Hall Meetings

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House Democrats escalate effort to obtain Trump tax returns

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday tried but failed to pressure Republicans into seeking President Donald Trump’s tax returns, saying the scandal over Michael Flynn made it imperative to find out whether the president has business ties to Russia. A day after the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee dismissed the idea, the panel’s Democrats proposed an amendment demanding that the committee ask the Treasury Department for copies of Trump’s returns by March 1. “Unless this amendment is adopted, we will never see the president’s tax returns while he’s in office,” Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, told committee Chairman Kevin Brady at a public hearing.

US Senators from both parties pledge to continue Mel Brooks-style remake of McCarthy era

“Top Republican and Democratic senators pledged Tuesday to deepen their [security theater over alleged, so far with little if any evidence,] Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election in the wake of Michael Flynn’s resignation as President Trump’s national security adviser, opening a new and potentially uncomfortable chapter in the uneasy relationship between Trump and Capitol Hill.

Report: Friedman will apologize for using a kapoa to describe liberal Jews

President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is expected to apologize during his Senate confirmation hearing for derogatory statements he has made against liberal Jews. Representatives of the nominee told Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., who is the senior Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee that will hold the confirmation hearing, that Friedman will apologize for use of the term “kapo” to attack J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Mika Brzezinski puts mansion on sale for $2million

Mika’s moving on: Morning Joe co-host puts her New York mansion on sale for $2million after divorcing her husband The MSNBC presenter’s three-storey home, on a third of an acre of land, has six bedrooms and four bathrooms Morning news anchor Mika Brzezinski has put the New York mansion she bought with her ex husband on the market. The 102 year old Tudor-style home in Bronxville is on sale for a cool $2.09 million, $200,000 more than she and former spouse James Hoffer paid for it in 2012.

It’s Getting Late Early: the Left and the Working Class

The accidental genius of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, particularly with a programmed establishment type like Hillary Clinton to run against, is how in its own way it covered the both right and left flanks. With all Trump’s babbling about carnage and ‘inner cities’ he hit on the traditional rightwing terror of being overwhelmed and slaughtered by the expanding colored hordes.

Residents say 1st atom bomb test caused cancer cases

Residents say the world’s first atomic bomb test caused generations of southern New Mexico families to suffer from cancer and economic hardship, according to surveys gathered by an advocacy group seeking compensation for descendants. The surveys released Friday detailed residents’ stories from areas around the 1945 Trinity Test and argue that many Hispanic families later struggled to keep up with cancer-related illnesses.

The Evacuation Order Has Been Lifted for 200,000 People Living Below California’s Threatened Dam

Nearly 200,000 Northern Californians who live downstream of the country's tallest dam were allowed to return home Tuesday after two nights of uncertainty, but they were warned they may have to again flee to higher ground on a moment's notice if hastily made repairs to the battered structure don't hold. The fixes could be put to their first test later this week with the first of a series of small storms forecast for the region.

Ap Fact Check: Democrats cite fake tweet to condemn Flynn

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., joined at right by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, calling for an investigation into President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia, including when Trump learned that his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had discussed U.S. sanctions with a Russian diplomat.

Democrats demand independent Russia probe after Flynn quits

Democrats demanded a special investigation Tuesday into possible links between President Donald Trump’s administration and Russia, including when Trump learned that his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had discussed U.S. sanctions with a Russian diplomat. “The American people deserve to know the full extent of Russia’s financial, personal and political grip on President Trump and what that means for our national security,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

Senate confirms former wrestling exec McMahon to lead SBA

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed former wrestling entertainment executive Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration as part of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. McMahon served as the chief executive officer at WWE before stepping down in 2009 to run for the Senate.

The Long Road to Impeach Trump Just Got Shorter

On Thursday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler filed a “resolution of inquiry” that amounts to the first legislative step toward impeachment. A new poll shows that registered voters are evenly split, at 46-to-46 percent, on whether they “support” or “oppose” impeaching Trump.

Donald Trump and the pitfalls of a social media presidency

There was U.S. President Donald Trump, in the middle of his Mar-a-Lago resort, conferring with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on decisions with national security implications over iceberg wedge salads. The club members snapped photos and posted them to Facebook with detailed narratives about what they were seeing unfold before their eyes Saturday night in Palm Beach, Florida.

Flynn, fired once by a president, now resigns to another

In this Jan. 28, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump accompanied by, from second from left, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.

License to discriminate?

Many discussions about unequal justice in the United States focus on the disproportionate number of African Americans – particularly young black men – who end up in our jails and prisons. Our review of 5.5 million state court records showed that same pattern in Oregon.

U.S. Senate approves 2 more of President Trump’s cabinet nominees

The Senate confirmed Steven Mnuchin, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Treasury Department, in a vote mostly along party lines Monday night as Democrats criticized him as a Wall Street-friendly banker who breaks with Trump’s promise to stand for American workers. The Senate voted 53-47, with all Republicans voting for him and all Democrats voting no except Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Fearmongering fails to diminish free-market reforms

The political left’s preferred pattern is to consign conservatism to the wilderness with obituaries of its much-ballyhooed demise abounding, signaling: it’s time to bury all hope of returning to the constitutional republic our founders intended. When that doesn’t work – like when disruptors of the status quo took over the Kentucky House in November and began resurrecting ideas about returning this commonwealth to a free-market economy and the Constitution for which it stands – the preferred tactic of the left also resurrects: fearmongering.

US senators propose bill to improve volcano monitoring

JUNEAU, Alaska>> U.S. senators in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii have proposed legislation intended to improve volcano monitoring efforts and early warning capabilities. The measure would put the Alaska, Cascades and Hawaiian volcano observatories into a connected system and create a 24-hour Volcano Watch Office to provide ongoing situational awareness of active volcanoes in the U.S. and its territories.

The new civics course in schools: How to avoid fake news

This Feb. 6, 2017, screen shot shows a website that falsely implies that it is from ABC News. The site is actually an imposter pedaling stories that aren’t true and is an example North Carolina teacher Bill Ferriter gives to his students when teaching them to question whether a story could possibly be true and to look at web addresses and authors for hints that stories might be bogus.

Boxing Day

House lawmakers are poised to debate legislation that aims to limit the interchange fees that credit-card companies exact on transactions at retail stores, reported The Hill . The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the bill on Thursday, it said.

Pro-Republican PAC gears up to oppose Cuomo 2020

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivers one of his State of the State addresses in New York’s One World Trade Center building, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. New York state must stand as an alternative to the policies and pronouncements of President-elect Donald Trump and show the nation progressive achievements, racial and religious tolerance and that big investments in education and infrastructure can create a dynamic economy that works for all, Cuomo said Monday.