After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the Pennsylvania GOP to restore the state’s “insanely gerrymandered” congressional map on Monday, one Republican decided that the next rational course of action would be to launch an impeachment campaign against the five state justices who deemed the map unconstitutional—a move critics denounced as a “remarkable” attempt…
Read moreSparking Swift Backlash, Trump Doubles Down on Proposal to Arm 'Highly Trained Teachers'
Sparking swift backlash Thursday morning, President Donald Trump attacked the news media for reporting on his comments Wednesday about the possibility of instituting “concealed carry for teachers” in an effort to deter school shootings, then doubled down on the proposal, tweeting that firearms should be given to “highly trained” and “only the best” teachers, which…
Read more'We Will Stay!' West Virginia Teachers Vote to Occupy State Capitol Until Demands Met
Though you may not know it from the corporate media’s coverage—or lack thereof—West Virginia teachers are still striking in an effort to win both a pay raise and a permanent fix to their soaring health insurance premiums, and on Friday they voted to occupy the state capitol until their demands are met. Watch teachers chant…
Read more'Outrageous': Widespread Anger After Trump Blocks Democrats' Takedown of Nunes Memo
President Donald Trump’s decision late Friday to block a memo by House Democrats—which rebuts a “cherry-picked” document released last week that’s been decried as “propaganda” meant to discredit the ongoing probe into allegations of collusion and obstruction of justice levied against the Trump campaign—was met with outrage by Democratic lawmakers, ethics experts, and other political…
Read moreNYPD Case Calls Attention to 'Consent Defense' That Can Be Used by Officers Accused of Rape in 35 States
A bill gaining traction in New York state would do away with a loophole that lawmakers and civil rights advocates say should never have existed there—or in 34 other states where police officers are legally allowed to sexually assault people they take into custody. The law has gained attention in recent months following the case…
Read moreRefusing to 'Play Dead for Big Banks,' Warren Gives Fellow Senators 17 Chances to Put Consumers First
Thanks to the help of 16 Senate Democrats and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a Wall Street deregulation measure disguised as a “community banking” bill is barreling toward passage—but Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) vowed Wednesday to not let the bill sail through without forcing votes on a series of amendments aimed at showing Americans whose side…
Read moreStunning Critics, Oklahoma Turns to 'Experimental' Use of Nitrogen Gas to Kill People
Anti-capital punishment advocates on Thursday condemned an announcement by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter this week that the state would begin using nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates, after being unable to secure lethal injection drugs. Following challenges by prisoners and rights advocates, some manufacturers have stopped selling certain kinds of drugs to states…
Read moreWithout Urgent Action, Warn Wildlife Experts, One-Third of US Species at Risk of Extinction
On the heels of a U.N.-funded study that warned about the massive consequences of a worldwide decline in biodiversity, U.S. conservation groups are raising alarms about new estimates that as many as one-third of American species are vulnerable to extinction. “This loss of wildlife has been sneaking up on us but is now like a…
Read moreOutrage Follows Puerto Rico's Announcement It's Closing Nearly a Third of Its Public Schools
Teachers unions and outraged citizens in Puerto Rico are vowing to fight the government’s newly-announced plan to close nearly a third of its public schools. Puerto Rico’s Education Department said Thursday that 283 schools would close by the start of the new school year, leaving open just 828. “I don’t even know where the schools…
Read moreConcerns of 'Catastrophic Collapse' Grow as Gulf Stream Weaker Than It's Been in 1,600 Years
New research published Wednesday in the journal Nature raises alarm about how global warming is impacting the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf Stream System, and how weakening ocean currents could influence extreme weather in Western Europe and sea level rise along North America’s East Coast. Although the two studies draw different conclusions about timing and causation, researchers…
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