(2018-09-08). Scott Pruitt's Personal Security Cost Taxpayers Over $3.5 million: EPA Audit. truthout.org You, the American taxpayer, spent over $3.5 million providing US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt with an unprecedented round-the-clock security detail — and that security force may have been operating both outside of the law and without justification. | That's the message the EPA's internal watchdog has for American taxpayers after concluding an audit of the environmental agency's security protocols from September 2016 to May 2018. | Over just 11 months in 2017, Pruitt racked up millions — on the taxpayers' dime — on his own personal security, more than double the amount spent on security by previous administrators. | And Pruitt's security detail, unlike previous teams, didn't use US Marshalls, who are the ones authorized by the Government Accountability Office to carry firearms and make arrests, the audit found. EPA stopped using those US Marshalls…
(2018-09-08). Is Nationalization an Answer to Climate Change? theintercept.com 
Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., proposed a slew of measures to rein in corporate power, the centerpiece of which was ensuring that 40 percent of corporate boards be comprised of workers, rather than just shareholders. While it's a novel idea in the United States, this sort of corporate co-governance is standard fare in Germany, Europe's largest economy — and a heartily capitalist one at that. | None of that stopped the right from losing its collective mind about the idea. The National Review's Kevin Williamson called Warren's notion a plan to "nationalize every major business in the United States of America," which would "constitute the largest seizure of private property in human history." The actual plan, of course, would do no such thing. At its most radical, Warren's proposed bill — titled the "Accountable Capitalism Act" — would essentially bring…
(2018-09-07). Using Wildfires as an Excuse to Plunder Forests. counterpunch.org President Trump recently blamed environmental protections for the loss of homes and lives in wildfires in California, and followed up that groundless suggestion by strongly implying that increased logging could protect rural towns from these conflagrations. Not to be outdone, his interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, complained that "environmental terrorist groups" were, in part, responsible, through legal efforts that More
(2018-09-07). International Day of Action on Climate: September 8. therealnews.com 
TRNN will be covering the Sept. 8 Climate march in San Francisco, which is part of an international day of action. Environmentalists are challenging California's Governor Jerry Brown claim to be a champion in the fight against climate change
(2018-09-07). Wildlife Services is Really a Wildlife Killing Machine. counterpunch.org 
The euphemistically named federal killing agency known as Wildlife Services is being sued in Idaho US District Court by environmental groups that include Western Watershed Project, Predator Defense, Wild Earth Guardians, and the Center for Biological Diversity. The plaintiffs assert that Wildlife Services' lethal control of coyotes and other predators at the behest of the More
(2018-09-07). Climate of Class Rule: Common(s)er Revolt or Common Ruin. counterpunch.org 
Extreme weather and its collateral damage are only tips of the melting iceberg, semi-metaphorically speaking. The real climatological shit hits the eco-exterminist fan when we can't grow enough food, find enough water, and keep ourselves cool enough to survive — and when global warming combines with collapsing social and technical infrastructure to bring pandemics that wipe out much of an increasingly thirsty, under-nourished, and over-heated human race. More
(2018-09-07). Waste plastics poison the food chain and contribute to global warming. wsws.org A variety of recent research highlights the ways in which the huge amounts of discarded plastic products are harmful to the environment and human health.
(2018-09-07). Many Japanese schools fail to meet earthquake-resistant standards. wsws.org Schools in earthquake-prone Japan, which have endured decades of spending cuts, will receive no new funds for safety from Tokyo.
(2018-09-06). John McCain's Replacement Has a History of Undermining Civil Liberties. aclu.org The newly sworn-in senator from Arizona is hostile to civil liberties. | On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence swore in Jon Kyl as the new senator from Arizona, replacing the late John McCain. | Kyl previously served in the Senate from 1995 and 2013, where he built up a clear record of opposition to civil liberties, proposing to make the Patriot Act permanent and supporting amendments to the Constitution to undermine free expression, equal protection, and due process. | He more recently develop…
(2018-09-06). Senator Rubio's "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative": How Scared is the U.S. of China's "Belt and Road"? globalresearch.ca The "Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative" jointly proposed by Senators Marco Rubio and three others threatens the US' partners with the downgrading of bilateral relations and possible suspension of …
(2018-09-06). ISS crew shares mesmerizing view of Storm Gordon from 255 miles above Earth (VIDEO). rt.com 
The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) has the best view of many of the Earth's most magnificent, and often terrifying, weather events. Thankfully, the crew brought its HD cameras along to share with the rest of us.
(2018-09-04). Is the Government Planning to Surveil Keystone XL Protesters? aclu.org Memories of the government's use of force at Standing Rock, coupled with evidence of its plans for the Keystone protests, raise immense concerns. | In the aftermath of Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, leaked documents revealed that law enforcement agencies had collaborated with private security contractors to employ counterterrorism tactics against "pipeline insurgencies" and to manufacture a (2018-09-04). Glider aircraft flies at highest-ever altitude — a blood-boiling 76,000ft (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Two pilots have soared to 76,124ft (23, 203 meters) in a groundbreaking flight that saw an engineless aircraft ride atmospheric waves to soar over Earth, where the altitude is so high that human blood boils unless protected.
(2018-09-03). California Climate Assessment: Heat Waves, Forest Fires, and Floods to Increase Dramatically due to Climate Change. therealnews.com 
The state of California released a climate assessment that points to "apocalyptic" conditions if climate change is not halted or mitigated in the next 30 years. We discuss the report with one of the co-authors and a California EPA deputy director
(2018-08-31). Want to know about new FTC head's conflicts of interest? Too bad, that's redacted. rt.com 
Corporate lawyer Andrew Smith's appointment to head the FTC's Bureau of Consumer protection raised some eyebrows earlier this summer. Now, a heavily redacted set of documents have done little to allay this concern. |
(2018-08-29). Top Student Loan Watchdog Resigns over Trump Admin Doing Bidding of Predatory Lenders. democracynow.org 
As the school year begins this week across the United States, the top student loan watchdog has resigned in protest, accusing the Trump administration of siding with powerful predatory lenders over student loan borrowers. Seth Frotman worked as student loan ombudsman under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Mick Mulvaney. He wrote that under Mulvaney's leadership, "the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting." This comes as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed new rules that would cut an estimated $13 billion in federal student loan relief for peopl…
(2018-08-29). Headlines for August 29, 2018. democracynow.org Puerto Rico Increases Hurricane Death Toll to 2,975, Andrew Gillum, a Black Progressive Backed by Bernie Sanders, Wins Florida Gubernatorial Primary, Trump-Backed Martha McSally Wins Arizona GOP Senate Primary, Trump Warns of "Violence" If Democrats Win Control of Congress, Texas Police Officer Convicted for Killing 15-Year-Old African-American Student, Teachers in Washington State Begin Strike, U.N. Secretary-General: Report on Genocide Targeting Rohingya Needs Serious Consideration, India Carries Out Raids Arresting Critics of Modi Government, France's Environment Minister Resigns On-Air over Climate Change, De…
(2018-08-29). Hatewatch Headlines 8/30/18. splcenter.org A U.S. Senate candidate will speak alongside extremists; another Trump administration official has ties to white nationalists; climate change and systemic racism, and more.
(2018-08-22). Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast. venezuelanalysis.com According to the Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, the quake registered at 6.9 on the Richter Scale and left parts of Trinidad and Tobago without electricity.
(2018-08-20). As Trump Favors Asbestos, People Die. progressive.org Donald Trump has been rolling back protections against exposure to asbestos, which kills an estimated 15,000 people each year in the United States alone.
(2018-08-14). What the 'Sensible Middle' Doesn't Get About Education. progressive.org There is no middle between facts and the story that the earth is flat.