The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

Obama’s announcement targeted seven Venezuelan officials who are now subject to U.S. sanctions. The action provoked a fiery response from President Nicolas Maduro, who accused the U.S. of trying to meddle in his country’s internal affairs and undermine his government. The sanctions will not change the economic relationship between the two countries. The U.S. is Venezuela’s top trading partner, and the U.S. imports an average of 733,000 barrels of oil per day from the South American nation.   read more

One former FBI agent, Jane Turner, reported on colleagues who stole items from Ground Zero in New York in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. She was subsequently retaliated against by the bureau. “After making this whistleblower disclosure, she was given a ‘does not meet expectations’ rating, placed on leave, and given a notice of proposed removal,” the GAO reported. Turner won her case but couldn’t get her job back. “It cost me my career," she said   read more

The agricultural industry has long relied on immigrants, many of whom are undocumented, to pick crops, and Smith’s legislation would force farmers to end this practice.The AWC warned that “the economic impacts of this will spread far beyond the farm gate as Americans working in industry sectors both upstream and downstream of the farm will see their jobs threatened. Each of the 2 million hired farm employees supports two to three fulltime American jobs" in multiple sectors.   read more

The order affected several companies, including Chevron, drilling for oil in Kern County using injection wells. Officials said they had not discovered any contamination of aquifers in the drilling areas, but were merely taking precautions. “The protection of California’s groundwater resources — as well as public health — is paramount, particularly in this time of extreme drought,” said Steven Bohlen of the California Department of Conservation.   read more

“In light of the unsettled science, I am concerned that insurers could be denying claims based on the unsupported belief that these earthquakes were the result of fracking or injection well activity," said State Insurance Commissioner John Doak. Such policies include exceptions that allow insurers to deny claims for damage caused by man-made earthquakes. Those caused by fracking could fall into that category. With the increase in quakes in Oklahoma, sales of earthquake insurance have gone up.   read more

Documents show the ban had been in place since Governor Rick Scott took office in 2011. Investigators spoke with former DEP employees who confirmed that use of the terms were forbidden in any official emails, documents, or communications. "We were... no longer allowed to use [those] terms...or even ‘sea-level rise'...which was to be referred to as ‘nuisance flooding,” said Kristina Trotta. When her staff protested, they were told the order came “from the governor’s office.”   read more

The “Homeless Bill of Rights,” passed almost exclusively with Democratic votes, makes it more difficult for police to harass and move the homeless from public spaces. The ordinance says such individuals have the right to “move freely in public spaces” as well as receive equal treatment from city agencies and emergency medical care. It also assures a right to privacy for their personal property and requires 15 days notice before moving them from a camp.   read more

The decline in net farm income, which was $108 billion in 2014, is chiefly due to a drop in prices for feed grains. Dairy, poultry and pork prices have also fallen, although beef prices have remained high. Another factor expected to depress agricultural income is a drop in exports. The report said that they’ll be down 6% from 2014’s record $152.5 billion. However, farm asset values are expected to increase by 0.4% to a record $3.005 trillion in the United States.   read more

All profits from the store will go towards public health and safety expenses, and could allow North Bonneville to finally afford to have its own police department. Local businesses are excited about the new shop and are even teaming up for some promotional ideas. The Dam Roadhouse Restaurant, just down the street from Cannabis Corner, is creating coupons that will offer customers special deals for making purchases at both establishments. The shop may generate $2.7 million during its first year.   read more

The upcoming game between the Cosmos and the Cuban soccer team is the result of President Barack Obama last year restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba. The U.S. hasn’t had relations with its southern neighbor in 55 years. The last U.S. team to play before the break in relations between the two countries was in 1960, when the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings played a game on the island. In 1999, the Baltimore Orioles played Cuba’s national team in an exhibition game in Havana, and won, 3-2.   read more

While many Republican-run states are trying to restrict the number of people who vote, Oregon is going in the opposite direction. The legislation creates a system that will make it easier than ever for 300,000 to 400,000 potential voters to become actual voters. It authorizes the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division to electronically transfer motorists’ information to the office of the secretary of state, which keeps track of voter rolls.   read more

The pizza industry has two main political goals. The first is to fight off attempts to force calorie and nutrition information to be accessible to consumers. Big Pizza’s second goal is to roll back school lunch nutrition requirements that make the food less likely to be served in cafeterias. Rules that mandate maximum amounts of sodium and fat and require whole grains are anathema to frozen pizza makers.   read more

The DNC has spent $4.5 million since 2011 renting the White House for gatherings such as the president’s annual Christmas party and other events throughout the year. Republicans have also taken advantage of the White House when their party has been in office. From 2003 to 2006, the Republican National Committee paid $3.6 million for catering, meetings and decorations.   read more

In Yakima, Washington, which is one-third Latino, officials will have to create voting districts for city council elections. The change is expected to finally bring a Latino to office after nearly 40 years. The city of Grand Prairie has been accused of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and denying fair representation to Hispanic voters. Currently, all of the city’s council members are white, despite the population being nearly 43% Hispanic.   read more

Three men are charged with stealing email addresses from email service providers (ESP) and then using those companies’ computers to send out massive amounts of spam directing recipients to the defendants’ sites. Nguyen and Vu used “phishing” schemes to gain access to some of the ESPs. Employees there were sent legitimate looking emails. Once they clicked on a link within the emails, malware was installed on their computers that allowed the defendants to gain access to their company’s network.   read more

By most measures, the economy is in far better shape than it was when President Barack Obama took office. In February, 295,000 jobs were added, the 12th month in a row that at least 200,000 jobs were added, the longest such period since 1994. The unemployment rate, 5.5%, is the lowest since May 2008. The stock market is high and gas prices are relatively low. The outlier is wage growth, which has been stagnant.   read more