The Trump administration is looking to either eliminate or severely restrict regulations designed to protect people from discrimination in a number of categories, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The Department of Justice is asking federal agencies to assess ways to scale back regulations that allow for “disparate impact” legal challenges to discrimination. Disparate impact refers […]
Last November, at a time of heightened anti-Muslim bigotry and racism, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar made history, becoming the first Muslim women to get elected to Congress. And across the country on Thursday, Muslim American women watched as Reps. Tlaib (D-MI) and Omar (D-MN) were sworn into the House in an emotional ceremony that […]
The last time U.S. coal consumption was this low, Jimmy Carter was president. Despite campaigning on a pledge to save the dirtiest of fossil fuels, President Donald Trump has presided over a faster rate of coal plant retirements in his first two years than President Barack Obama saw in his entire first term. The U.S. Energy Information […]
Voters across the country should be able to register to vote on Election Day, no matter where they live, according to new legislation being introduced in the House Thursday. Right now, just 17 states and the District of Columbia allow same-day voter registration, and the bill, introduced by Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), would mandate that […]
David Bernhardt, the Interior Department’s second-in-command who has been described as a “walking conflict of interest,” will now lead the agency as acting secretary following Ryan Zinke’s resignation. Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist, is widely seen as one of the Trump administration’s most effective officials in rolling back regulations in favor of industry interests. Bernhardt […]
Brazil’s new President, Jair Bolsonaro, has given his government new powers to monitor and supervise non-governmental organizations (NGOs) within the country. The temporary decree was signed on Tuesday, Reuters reported, the same day that Bolsonaro was inaugurated. It mandates that the office of the Government Secretary “supervise, coordinate, monitor and accompany that activities and actions […]
A former marine who is said to be visiting Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding has been charged with spying, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Paul Whelan, 48, was arrested by Russian security services on December 28, on suspicions that he was on a “spy mission.” Whelan had traveled to Russia before, and his […]
As unpaid federal workers struggle with tough financial choices during the shutdown, the American Federation of Government Employees has decided to bring a lawsuit against the Trump administration. It’s unclear when the shutdown, which has now entered its 13th day, will end, as the president and Congress remain at odds over funding for a wall on the […]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made an ominous statement during his new year address, saying that his country would pursue a “new path” if the United States insisted on pushing ahead with sanctions on his country. This, despite President Donald Trump spending the better part of 2018 insisting that his tough talk (followed by some […]
Dozens of pharmaceutical companies began the new year by raising prices for hundreds of medicines, proving the administration’s naming and shaming of Big Pharma last year didn’t work. Approximately 60 companies hiked prices during the first two days of January, according to a new analysis from Rx Saving Solutions and first reported by the Wall Street […]
House Democrats gained at least 40 seats in the November 2018 midterm elections, in large part based on their promise to fight against the culture of corruption that festered under the GOP’s control. As they usher in the 116th Congress on Thursday, the new House Majority plans to hit the ground running with two packages to actually […]
Long before Donald Trump’s second-place finish somehow landed him in the White House, Republicans in Congress promised a package of benefit cuts, privatization, and tax cuts for the wealthy that were so cruel, American voters literally refused to believe they were real. In 2012, a Democratic super PAC decided not to campaign against future Speaker Paul […]
As a partial government shutdown takes a growing toll on national parks and other public lands, environmental advocates are concerned that public records relating to the shutdown’s impacts may be harder to access once it ends. Before Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke departed the agency under a cloud of ethics investigations, he transferred public records requests […]
One of the most outspoken defenders of Syria’s dictator and Russia’s propaganda machine has announced his retirement from the Virginia State Senate. On Monday, Dick Black announced on Facebook that he would not seek re-election to the Virginia Sate Senate, where he’s served for seven years. Black didn’t specify any particular reason for his retirement, […]