truth-out.org (2018-05-10). Consumer Advocates Warn Mulvaney's Actions Will Lead to "Open Season on Borrowers" truth-out.org Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney prepares to testify before a House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing in Rayburn Building on the FY2019 Budget for OMB on April 18, 2018. (Photo: Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) | Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), announced Wednesday that the federal watchdog will effectively shutter its student loan division and shift its responsibilities to another office, a move that critics warn will lead to " open season on borrowers." | The restructuring is part of Mulvaney master plan to, as the New York Times notes, "refocus the agency away from its consumer finance enforcement and rule-writing mission and more toward providing consumers with information about their legal rights" — in other words, to " defang" the CFPB, a long-time target of…

RT (2018-05-10). #NappingWhileBlack: Yale embroiled in race row after bizarre dorm incident. rt.com The dean of Yale says the prestigious university needs to make efforts to be more inclusive after a white graduate student called the police on a black student who fell asleep on a couch in a common area of their campus residence.
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amnesty.org (2018-05-10). Colombian Human Rights Defenders Need Protection. amnesty.org …

Human Rights Watch (2018-05-10). Latest Sudanese Attacks on Darfur Show Protection Needs. hrw.org United Nations Mission in Darfur peacekeepers stand guard in Shagra village, North Darfur, October 18, 2012. | © 2012 Reuters | Today, the United Nations Security Council will get a briefing on the situation in Sudan's Darfur region. Since March, government-led attacks have surged against dozens of villages in Jebel Mara, a restive mountainous rebel stronghold in central Darfur, resulting in killings, widespread destruction, looting, and mass displacement. | The latest report of UNAMID, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, calls the situation in Darfur "generally stable" with some "low scale skirmishes." With such a gloss-over assessment from peacekeepers, there's a real risk the dire protection needs of civilians will be ignored or forgotten. | In April the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies reported that between mid-March and mid-April government forces,…

Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon (2018-05-09). The Grifter-in-Chief Has An Administration Full of Thieves, Fixers and Money Grubbers. alternet.org Now more than ever, the "lobby bar" at the Trump International Hotel is the favorite hang-out of lobbyists & fixers | Have you taken a flight and had a look at the accommodations in first class? These days, many of the major airlines are featuring what they call "suites. " These are comfy spaces with lie-flat seats that convert into beds, in walled-off enclosures with sliding doors and private 20-inch screens featuring the latest in first-run movies, television series, and other video delights. Not to mention culinary selections from celebrity chefs including caviar, Dom Perignon champagne, and a night-night service where flight attendants make up your bed, help you with your airline-branded jammies, and tuck in your down-filled comforter so you don't get a chill. If you took a long-haul flight to North Africa or Rome recently, you might have run into Environmental Protection. . .

Ilana Novick (2018-05-09). Tens of Thousands of University of California Staffers Strike. truthdig.com More than 20,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 are on day three of a labor strike, protesting what they characterize as unacceptable wages, health care costs and retirement benefits offered by the University of California system. | During contract negotiations, the union requested a 6 percent annual wage increase, in addition to protections for health and retirement benefits, but the university agreed to only 3 percent, sparking the strike. | "Our Bargaining Team has been negotiating in good faith," union representatives said in a statement posted on Local 3299's website, explaining the decision to strike. "UC still has yet to offer real wage increases, benefit protections, job security, safe staffing and ending discrimination in the workplace. Instead, UC wants us to take cuts." | The strike is expected to end Thursday, according to a…

Kevin Gosztola (2018-05-09). Why Was a Whistleblower Advocate for US Spies Fired for Talking to Congress? mintpressnews.com A key United States intelligence whistleblower advocate, who worked in the Office of the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community (IG IC), was fired from his job by an ad-hoc board that was supported by no policy. One of the board members also had a substantial conflict of interest with the advocate. | April Stephenson, who was the acting inspector general for the Energy Department, was part of an executive review board that met in the IC IG's office on January 12. The board fired Dan Meyer, the head of the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program for the office, after he allegedly committed two "security infractions," including engaging in a "secret dialogue" with Congress. (Meyer learned of his removal in March.) | There is no directive that permits an ad-hoc board to be convened to fire an IG employee. | On October…

truth-out.org (2018-05-09). Winners and Losers From Tuesday's Primaries. truth-out.org Voters in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a number of key primaries. In West Virginia, the state's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a closely watched US Senate primary, defeating US Rep. Evan Jenkins and former coal baron Don Blankenship. Blankenship had served a year in prison after 29 miners died in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He faced intense criticism after releasing an ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his "China family." Patrick Morrisey will now face the conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. In Ohio, Richard Cordray defeated former Congressmember Dennis Kucinich in the state's Democratic primary for governor. Cordray served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He will now face Mike DeWine in November to determine who will replace outgoing Ohio Governor…

Staff (2018-05-09). Tourism's Climate Footprint Expands. truthdig.com Previous estimates of tourism's climate footprint have fallen far below the mark. Between 2009 and 2013 it increased four times more than earlier estimated, according to a comprehensive new study. | By 2013 the worldwide tourism industry was spilling an estimated 4.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. World tourism is now growing faster than international trade. | Scientists from Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia who explored the link between leisure and global warming report in the journal Nature Climate Change how they calculated the carbon footprint of the tourism business, in what must be one of the most complex studies of the global holiday sector ever undertaken. | "Our analysis is a world-first look at the true cost of tourism — including consumables such as food from eating out and souvenirs…

Dennis J Bernstein (2018-05-09). The Rohingya, Facing Turmoil in Exile, Welcomed Back to Myanmar With Words but Not Action. mintpressnews.com Dennis J. Bernstein spoke with filmmaker and human rights activist, Jeanne Hallacy, just back with horror stories from Myanmar and the massive Rohingya camps of over 700,000 in neighboring Bangladesh.

wsws.org (2018-05-09). Christian Petzold's Transit: The condition of refugees as hell on earth. wsws.org The fate of refugees is the subject of Transit, the latest film by prominent German director Christian Petzold, which featured at the 2018 Berlinale and is now on public release in Germany.

Democracy Now! (2018-05-09). Primary Day: Blankenship Out in WV; Consumer Watchdog Wins in Ohio; Pence's Brother Wins in Indiana. democracynow.org Voters in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a number of key primaries. In West Virginia, the state's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a closely watched U.S. Senate primary, defeating U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and former coal baron Don Blankenship. Blankenship had served a year in prison after 29 miners died in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He faced intense criticism after releasing an ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his "China family." Patrick Morrisey will now face the conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. In Ohio, Richard Cordray defeated former Congressmember Dennis Kucinich in the state's Democratic primary for governor. Cordray served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He will now face Mike DeWine in November to determine who will replace outgoing Ohio Governor…

RT (2018-05-09). Americans released by North Korea land on US soil (WATCH LIVE). rt.com Donald Trump is receiving US citizens at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC after they were freed from North Korean captivity with the help of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who negotiated their release.
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RT (2018-05-09). Americans released by North Korea land on US soil. rt.com Donald Trump is receiving US citizens at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC after they were freed from North Korean captivity with the help of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who negotiated their release.
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RT (2018-05-08). 'Heinous acts': US Olympic committee accused of sex trafficking in new lawsuit. rt.com The US Olympic Committee is embroiled in a fresh misconduct controversy as a new lawsuit alleges that it knowingly allowed the sex trafficking and abuse of Taekwondo athletes for more than 20 years.
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Robert Hunziker (2018-05-07). Climate Change 10-Year Check-Up. counterpunch.org Ten years ago Kevin J. Surace delivered a fascinating TED talk entitled "Worst Case Climate Change." Based upon credits at the end of his speech, data for his talk came from the following sources: — Fred Pearce, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear — Tipping Points in Climate Change (Beacon Press, 2007) — John More

Democracy Now! (2018-05-07). Nearly 90,000 Hondurans May Be Deported to Danger and Poverty as Trump Ends Their Protected Status. democracynow.org The Trump administration announced Friday it is ending temporary protected status for nearly 90,000 Hondurans now living in the United States, saying they must return home. TPS is an immigration status granted to foreign nationals who can't safely return to their home countries, and allows them to legally live and work in the United States. Hondurans were first given TPS in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country. Critics note Honduras remains the one of the world's most violent countries. The Trump administration has also ended protections for El Salvador, Haiti, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. Only South Sudan and Syria were renewed. An estimated 300,000 people will be impacted overall. We get response from Patricia Montes, an immigrant from Honduras and executive director of Centro Presente in Boston, Massachusetts, which has worked with members from Honduras and Central America since the 1980s. She also has family members who will lose their temporary protected status.

Shawn Musgrave (2018-05-07). How Customs and Border Protection Illegally Tried to Unmask a Rogue Twitter Account. theintercept.com When the Department of Homeland Security's attempt to unmask an irksome Twitter account imploded last year, few within the agency were surprised, according to newly released records. "Why would we do this?" one official asked in early April 2017 after Twitter filed a complaint in federal court, according to the heavily redacted emails. | The short-lived investigation into @ALT_USCIS, an anonymous account that claims it's run by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee, sparked an uproar over First Amendment encroachments and potential abuses of power last year, including from members of Congress. | The new documents, released last week by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press after it sued the DHS and Customs and Border Protection, reveal a partial timeline of the abortive investigation. But more importantly, the emails show how a seemingly unsupervised CBP agent improperly attempted…

RT (2018-05-07). Alyssa Milano branded a hypocrite for 'armed security' at anti-NRA rally (VIDEO). rt.com US actress Alyssa Milano has been branded a hypocrite by NRA activists for allegedly attending an anti-NRA protest with armed guards as personal protection.
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RT (2018-05-06). Lava fountains spew aggressively from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano (VIDEO). rt.com Lava flows continue to persist from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii after the eruption and hundreds of earthquakes forced locals to flee the area. New footage shows molten rock surging relentlessly into the air in huge splatters.
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RT (2018-05-05). 'Shaking side to side': Hawaii's massive 6.9 quake captured on VIDEOS. rt.com Terrifying, rumbling, ripping through houses; steaming cracks in the ground, and panicking locals — the powerful earthquake with aftershocks that hit the Big Island of Hawaii has been captured on videos.
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wsws.org (2018-05-05). Trump ends temporary protected status for 86,000 Hondurans. wsws.org The decision all but ends the temporary protected status program, as 97 percent of total recipients will lose protection.

Kate Aronoff (2018-05-05). Top Republican Plans to Use Fossil Fuels to Make Puerto Rico "the Energy Hub of the Entire Caribbean" theintercept.com Puerto Rico could become "the energy hub of the entire Caribbean area" under a vision laid out by Rob Bishop, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who visited the island. | Bishop is not thinking of wind or solar. | In a press conference held in San Juan on Friday, with Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón — a nonvoting representative to the U.S. House — Bishop, R-Utah, said he had been consulting with oil and gas companies in Washington about how to bring more natural gas to the island. | "Puerto Rico could be a headquarters for the entire Caribbean area," Bishop said in response to a question from The Intercept. "That could be a source of energy not just for Puerto Rico, but it could be a source of export for that kind of energy to other places as…

John Laforge (2018-05-04). Russian Sea Monsters: Rudderless Reactors on the High Seas. counterpunch.org Did you hear the one about the Exxon Valdez, Fuku-Chernobyl, Gulf Oil Titanic? Yeah: Russia floated two nuclear reactors on a barge to power oil rigs in the Arctic Ocean and nothing went wrong! Unsatisfied with trouncing Japan at the Winter Olympics, 14 gold medals to four, Moscow wants to topple Tokyo as Oceanic Polluter No. More

RT (2018-05-04). Powerful 6.9 quake, numerous aftershocks hit Hawaii's Big Island near erupting volcano. rt.com A powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 has struck just off the Big Island of Hawaii as numerous smaller jolts, including a 5.4 tremor, shook the island in the past hours, amid ongoing volcanic eruption.
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Democracy Now! (2018-04-27). "You Really Should Resign": Lawmakers Slam EPA's Scott Pruitt over Mounting Ethics Scandals. democracynow.org Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was grilled by lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill about a slew of scandals over his spending habits and ties to industry lobbyists. Pruitt faces more than a half-dozen investigations. Among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a Capitol Hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent Washington energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. Pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog says violated spending laws. Pruitt had the EPA spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. Pruitt routinely travels first- or business-class, reportedly because Pruitt was confronted by economy-class customers angry over his policies. For more, we speak with Emily Atkin, a staff writer at The New Republic. Her latest pieces include "Scott Pruitt Is Forced to Confront Reality" and "The EPA Is Acting Like Big Tobacco." We also speak with Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.