Speaking to the media, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, “The catastrophic damage that has been done to our state is the fault of Hunter Biden—I mean Joe Biden. Consequently, as soon as federal aid dollars arrive, we will use it to ship the floodwaters to Democratic states so they can deal with it. We will also send them the debris.   read more

With all the talk of taking down statues and changing the names of buildings, isn’t it time that we talk about the presence of Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill? Jackson was actually a slave trader who made his fortune buying and selling African-Americans. What he did to Native Americans was even worse. He forced an estimated 46,000 Native Americans off their ancestral lands and turned over the land to white people. Thousands of Cherokee died on the Trail of Tears, walking to what is now Oklahoma.   read more

It sometimes seems that the differences between the priorities of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are so great that they can’t agree on anything. Not so. Here are four programs that President Barack Obama’s last budget and President Donald Trump’s first budget proposed for complete elimination.   read more

AFA-CWA's Sara Nelson said that “doors of these restrooms open into each other, creating safety issues. There are a lot of injuries, with smashed fingers, doors hitting people, bumps and bruises.” She said the rear cabin restroom doors also create a barricade, limiting the ability of crew to help a passenger in trouble. Some parents with small kids say they can't help their kids in the toilet unless the door stays open. Large-size passengers are at a loss.   read more

The price of Narcan -- the lifesaving heroin-overdose antidote that revives the dying -- has skyrocketed, with one formulation rising more than 500% in two years. Although Narcan first hit the market in 1971, demand has skyrocketed as the opioid epidemic worsens. And with more potent opioids on the street -- such as fentanyl -- first responders, the largest consumers of the drug, are finding they need multiple doses to revive overdose victims.   read more

President-elect Donald Trump supports completion of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline in the Midwest, based on policy and not the billionaire businessman's investments in a partnership building the $3.8 billion pipeline, according to an aide's memo. Trump's most recent federal disclosure forms show he owned a small amount of stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline builder, and at least $100,000 in Phillips 66, an energy company that owns one-quarter of the pipeline.   read more

There is no question that the Emoluments Clause applies to the president. Unless Trump sells or gives his business to his children before taking office the Emoluments Clause would almost certainly be violated. Even if he does sell or give it away, any retained residual interest would still give him a stake in its fortunes, again violating the Constitution. The full extent of Trump's business ties remains unknown, as he has refused to disclose them, or to make public his tax returns.   read more

A soda tax may be coming to a city near you. Advocates say the recent sweep represents a watershed moment in the fight for soft-drink taxes. Once viewed as measures likely to find support only in largely health-conscious cities, soda taxes have emerged as a bountiful revenue source for cash-strapped local governments. “There’s a momentum with these taxes that will be hard for the industry to stop,” said Sanford dean Kelly Brownell.   read more

The number of providers who topped the $5 million mark for prescriptions increased more than tenfold. The number of prescribers—mostly physicians but also nurse practitioners–exceeding $10 million in drug costs jumped from two to 70. “The trends in this space are troubling and don’t show any signs of abating,” said Tim Gronniger of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “It’s going to be a pressure point for patients and the program for the foreseeable future.”   read more

Economists affiliated with prestigious universities show that mergers benefit consumers. But they reap their most lucrative paydays by lending their academic authority to mergers their corporate clients propose. Corporate lawyers hire them to sway the government by documenting that a merger won’t be “anti-competitive.” Their optimistic forecasts, though, often turn out to be wrong, and the mergers they champion may be hurting the economy.   read more

Among the changes found in the new study: multivitamin/mineral use declined to 31% from 37%, “and the rates of vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium use decreased, perhaps in response to research findings showing no benefit,” Cohen wrote. Sometimes people do act sensibly when faced with solid evidence. However, he added, “other products continued to be used at the same rate despite major studies demonstrating no benefit over placebo.”   read more

The price, which is expected to grow, compares with $1 million for a cruise missile. For now, there are no plans to buy projectiles beyond the initial purchase of 90. It's stunning news for a program plagued by growing costs. "Congress is going to want to know how the Navy could get so far down the road without realizing that the price tag on these projectiles is so high," said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.   read more

Though the public remains divided on taxes, often seen as a nanny-state intrusion, more and more Americans are turning away from the beverages. Sales are down, and many people say they are actively avoiding the products. Anti-soft drink advertising is likely to appear in major American cities. The declining public image of the beverages will create new challenges for the industry, even if it does not keep losing soda tax fights.   read more

The challengers contend that SpeechNow has allowed wealthy donors to use super PACs as vehicles that let them "evade campaign-contribution limits designed to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption." With 3,000 super PACs operating in the 2016 election cycle, 40% of contributions to these groups have come from the same 50 sources. As of October, they had raised $1.1 billion and made total expenditures of more than $799 million.   read more

There may be a silver lining in the revelation that Donald Trump paid no federal income tax for years or even decades: “Trump’s scheming on his taxes has put a spotlight on a tale of two systems,” Wyden said. “The first is compulsory. You work a shift...the taxes come out of your paycheck... For the most fortunate, you hire a battery of experts, and you pay what you want when you want to, or even nothing at all. I think we can all agree the tax code is a dysfunctional mess.”   read more

Dark money spending, from groups that conceal their donors, favors GOP candidates six to one. Just three groups, One Nation, with ties to Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, account for 67% of all dark money spending. "While this problem was created in part by 2010’s Citizens United decision, the 2016 data shows we have truly crossed a new Rubicon," wrote Vandewalker.   read more