In a banner year for journalism by non-conglomerate news outlets, the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College has announced the winners of the ninth annual Izzy Award . The award will be shared by Mother Jones senior reporter SHANE BAUER and Nation Institute Investigative Fund reporter SETH FREED WESSLER who, working independently, revealed major abuses at for-profit U.S. prisons; and by The Nation senior contributing writer ARI BERMAN, who exposed efforts to suppress voting.
Corporate Interests Give Tens of Millions to Dismantle Legal Rights of Consumers and Patients
Big business spent tens of millions to push extreme legislation intended to block victims’ legal rights to seek justice against corporate recklessness and medical malpractice, a new Public Citizen fact sheet shows. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce led the corporate assault against individuals’ legal rights.
Trump’s FDA Pick Has Extensive Industry Ties and Dangerous Deregulatory Ideas
Note: Today, media outlets indicated that President Donald Trump will nominate Dr. Scott Gottlieb to be the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Gottlieb is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a partner at one of the world’s largest venture capital funds – New Enterprise Associates – and a former FDA deputy commissioner.
Guilty Plea By Volkswagen is an Important Step
Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on today’s guilty plea by Volkswagen in its criminal court case for emission violations “18 months after news of Volkswagen’s emission scandal broke, we’re glad to see the company finally admit to criminal wrongdoing. This kind of company admission is a big deal.
ACLU To Host Training For Illegal Immigrants, Others About How To Resist Trump’s Policies
The American Civil Liberties Union, which used the courts to put a halt on President Trump’s first executive order barring specific refugees entrance to the United States, is organizing a “resist” training for illegal immigrants and citizens next week. “The American Civil Liberties Union will host “The Resistance Training: An ACLU Town Hall” tomorrow to organize and empower communities around the country in defense of their constitutional rights.
Something good came out of Samantha Bee’s attack on ‘Nazi hair’
Something good came out of Samantha Bee’s attack on ‘Nazi hair’ – Something good came out of Samantha Bee’s show this week.
Women2Women Agenda proving the political system is not broken
Over the last three years, the women of the Republican Main Street Partnership have traveled the country to have frank discussions about politics and policy with our female constituents. We established the Women2Women Conversations Tour to let women know that, contrary to what they may hear in the media, our political system is not broken or out-of-touch.
Cruz Pushes Obamacare Repeal Gambit That Could Roil the Senate
Ted Cruz is pushing a novel strategy to blow up Obamacare, but it just might blow up the Senate too. The Texas senator is unhappy with what many conservatives consider a half-baked repeal-and-replace effort racing through the House, a plan that GOP House leaders say was narrowed to meet Senate rules.
White House civil war breaks out over trade
White House civil war breaks out over trade – ‘Fiery meeting’ in Oval Office between economic nationalists and pro-trade moderates – Read next A civil war has broken out within the White House over trade, leading to what one official called “a fiery meeting” in the Oval Office
Opening Arctic for Drilling Is Trump Priority, Key Senator Says an hour ago
Senator Lisa Murkowski said President Donald Trump is interested in opening up new coastal waters for oil and gas drilling and reversing Obama-era policies that restrict energy development in Alaska. Both Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are weighing ways to expand opportunities to drill in Arctic waters though the changes could take years to accomplish administratively, Murkowski said in an interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston. “It’s fair to say we are looking at how we might be able to — how the administration might be able to — allow for opportunities within this important area, offshore Alaska,” Murkowski said.
Alphabet’s Waymo asks judge to block Uber from using…
Alphabet’s Waymo asks judge to block Uber from using self-driving car secrets – The case of the stolen self-driving car is heating up – Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving spinoff from Google, is formally asking a judge to block Uber from operating its autonomous vehicles
Sean Spicer wore an upside-down flag pin. The Internet lost its mind.
Quick White House Twitter Reaction on Jobs Report May Break a Rule – The enthusiastic reaction of the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, was understandable on Friday when the Labor Department reported a gain of 235,000 jobs.
Arkansans Invited to Attend Workshop for Veterans History Project
The office of U.S. Senator John Boozman will host a workshop for the Veteran’s History Project on March 18 at 1p.m. at the Plantation Agriculture Museum State Park in Scott, Arkansas. The workshop will be led by Col.
Say a where’s the Democratic plan to fix ObamaCare, anyway?
Remember “mend it, don’t end it”? Democrats have floated that slogan for three years while trying to convince voters that their unhappiness with ObamaCare doesn’t mean throwing it out entirely. A year ago, Chelsea Clinton argued that the “crushing costs” of the ACA needed immediate attention, but not repeal.
Fukushima has been overrun by wild, radioactive boars
This sounds like it could be the plot for the next Godzilla movie but the NY Times reports the area of Japan where a Tsunami and subsequent reactor meltdown occurred in 2011 has been overrun with wild, radioactive boars: Hundreds of toxic wild boars have been roaming across northern Japan, where the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant six years ago forced thousands of residents to desert their homes, pets and livestock. Some animals, like cattle, were left to rot in their pens.
a Congress to Trump: Your tweet deletes might be breaking the law – CNET
Remember that trouble President Donald Trump had earlier this month when he was trying to spell “hear by” … I mean “hearby” … I mean hereby in a tweet about Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s alleged close ties to Russia? Well, turns out his three attempts , and more significantly, two deletions, may have been breaking violating federal law. That’s according to Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Maryland Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, respectively.
U.K.’s May Hears Hard Truths as EU Preps for Brexit
Prime Minister Theresa May faces a united front of European Union leaders planning for the U.K.’s promised triggering of Article 50 later this month. Bloomberg’s Ian Wishart reports from the EU summit meeting in Brussels on “Bloomberg Markets.”
ECB Said to Have Discussed Whether Rates Can Rise Before QE Ends
European Central Bank policy makers considered the question of whether interest rates could rise before their bond-buying program comes to an end, according to people familiar with the matter. Governing Council members meeting on March 9 exchanged views on ways of communicating and sequencing an exit from unconventional stimulus, euro-area central-bank officials said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations were private.
Schiff: I haven’t seen any evidence Obama admin wiretapped Trump
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee told CNN Friday he has not “seen any evidence whatsoever to substantiate” President Donald Trump’s claims that he was wiretapped by the Obama administration during the campaign. “I think when Sean Spicer isn’t even willing to talk about it, you know there’s a real problem,” Rep. Adam Schiff said.
Hill Republican leaders reject suggestion to move up Medicaid expansion sunset
Republican congressional leaders are rejecting Friday any hint from the White House that they should disrupt their carefully crafted bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. After CNN reported Thursday night that President Donald Trump was open to moving up the sunset of the Medicaid expansion up from 2020 to the end of this year, GOP leaders supporting the bill aren’t biting.
Where fake news goes to die
The command center in the war against fake news isn’t in some network’s conference room or tech startup’s offices. It’s in a large ranch home nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, just north of Los Angeles.
White House Suggests It Hired a National Security Adviser Without…
When Donald Trump named Michael Flynn as his national security adviser last November, liberals had good cause to raise their eyebrows. The retired general had established himself as a proud Islamophobe – one who believed that ” fear of Muslims is rational ,” and that Democrats had tried to impose Sharia law on the state of Florida.
The Latest: Man gets extension to seek deportation stay
Catalino Guerrero, center left, stands with U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, left, and Newark Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin, center right, during a rally outside of the Peter Rodino Federal Building before attending an immigration hearing, Friday, March 10, 2017, in Newark, N.J. Guerrero, who arrived in the U.S. illegally in 1991, is facing deportation. Organizers claim he is an upstanding citizen and should not be deported.
Ted Cruz sends school choice letter to every Republican in Texas Legislature
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to state lawmakers Thursday urging them to make Texas the next state that gives parents taxpayer dollars to send their children to private or religious schools, or educate them at home.
Trump’s first jobs report crushes expectations
The US economy added 235,000 nonfarm payrolls in February, many more than expected, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7%, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Friday. Economists had forecast 200,000 nonfarm payrolls in February, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Trump administration hits the 50-day mark
Time flies: Today marks the 50th day of President Donald Trump’s administration and the halfway point in the storied “first 100 days.” More than a week ago, Trump said that he would give himself an A for achievement but a C in messaging, though that self-assessment came before his address to a joint session of Congress, for which he was roundly praised by members of his own party.
Strawberries and these other foods have the most pesticides
Strawberries and these other foods have the most pesticides Eating pesticide-free may mean a diet with fewer strawberries, or at least eating their organic versions. Check out this story on thestarpress.com: http://usat.ly/2maTrdR Strawberries topped the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list of produce with the most pesticides.
At Workmen’s Cafe, Lunchtime Is a Meat-and-Three Paradise
Despite never planning for a life in restaurants, Angie Bellinger is the one-woman show behind Workmen’s Cafe in James Island, South Carolina . “We went over the menu before we opened,” she says, referring to a conversation with her mother, Ruby Lee Whaley Bellinger, whose idea it was to open Workmen’s in the first place.
Do you wish we had more snow this winter?
Our “Find-A-Local” marketplace directory features business, restaurant and healthcare listings from Ottawa, Streator and the surrounding areas. If you would like to list yours, just click here to request it .
Pelosi says Trump’s wiretapping claims are false
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says there’s no way that former President Barack Obama had Donald Trump wiretapped in the lead up to the election, and FBI Director James Comey should say so. A member of the House Intelligence Committee, Pelosi questioned whether Trump understands the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law that allows the government to monitor the calls of foreign agents suspected of terrorism or espionage.
4 face charges tied to ATM thefts in Anchorage
The first of two cases filed Tuesday charges Jerd Thacker, Cristi Cozzeti and Jordan Cook with possession of stolen bank property – an ATM taken from First National Bank Alaska off Old Seward Highway on March 1, according to the charges. An Alaska state trooper arrested them on a property near Big Lake where an allegedly stolen truck and the ATM were found, according to a criminal complaint written by FBI special agent Barry Vaughan.
Apparently The Jobs Report Is No Longer A Massive Conspiracy?
President Donald Trump immediately retweeted right-wing media praise for a strong February 2017 jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics , which showed above-average job creation and a steady unemployment rate last month. Trump’s willingness to embrace the BLS monthly jobs report is at odds with his past approach — at least over the last four years — of slamming the number as “phony” and as merely a political tool of the Obama administration.
Body of teen hit by train 96 years ago to be exhumed
Officials are going to exhume the body of an unidentified teenage boy who died nearly a century ago after being struck by a train in Georgetown. News outlets report that the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the FBI hope that DNA evidence will help identify the victim.
Fox News Hosts Have No Clue What Planned Parenthood Does
After the release of Republicans’ long-awaited plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act , Fox News’ The Five put on a masterclass in how to get everything wrong about Planned Parenthood’s services and the implications of the attempt to defund the essential health care provider. Earlier this week, Republicans unveiled their alternative to the ACA, called the American Health Care Act .
On Cue, Adoring Pro-Trump Outlets Fawn Over February Jobs Report
Right-wing media reacted with predictable enthusiasm to a better-than-expected February 2017 jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics , which they attributed to President Donald Trump’s unique leadership. In reality, the economy is currently enjoying a 77-month streak of job creation that began under President Barack Obama — whom the same outlets routinely blasted for leading a sluggish economic recovery.
Why your town has no inherent right to food sovereignty
I love it when politics goes into Bizarro world. We’ve got Democrats fighting against onerous, odious, and overly-restrictive government action.
With Trump on board, Texas puts high-speed rail on the fast track
An $18 billion high-speed rail system, built by a Japanese company, could transform transportation in the Lone Star State. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to a supporter as stage lights color the dance floor after a rally in the South Side Ballroom at Gilley’s in Dallas, June 16, 2016.
Sandy proved stakes higher so Army studying new reality
Coastal storms like Hurricane Sandy aren’t new, but what is new are the stakes. Today we have more development and people living on our coast.
Peter Lucas: Mayor Obama would be most powerful man in D.C. again
According to my imaginary, non-existent Russian intelligence sources, the real reason the former president decided to live in Washington is so that he can run for mayor of Washington, D.C. Incumbent Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser would have to step aside, of course. Otherwise Obama would crush her in a primary the way he crushed Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Morning Weather March 10
A three year investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement resulted in 19 people pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute $5.7 million of methamphetamine, according to a release from the Department of Justice. A three year investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement resulted in 19 people pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute $5.7 million of methamphetamine, according to a release from the Department of Justice.