In March of last year, Mike Pence, then-Governor of Indiana, signed a bill making it illegal to abort a fetus due to genetic abnormalities, sex or race. The law also mandated that a fetus be buried or cremated after the completion of an abortion. To make matters worse for reproductive rights advocates, the law required that doctors have admitting … [Read more...]
Federal Judge Blocks Sessions’ Effort to Stifle Sanctuary Cities
A federal court in Chicago imposed a preliminary injunction on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to exclude all sanctuary cities from Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG), used primarily to bolster local police forces. The injunction, which affects districts throughout the county, will remain in effect while a lawsuit … [Read more...]
Trump’s Policies Could Negatively Impact the Home Construction Industry
The 2007-8 recession caused a serious dip in many sectors of the US and World economy, but one of the hardest hit sectors was the home construction industry. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Nevada employed nearly 146,000 construction workers prior to the recession. By 2015, that number fell to 63,000. Nevada wasn’t the … [Read more...]
The Administration’s Position on Disaster Relief
During the past several weeks, Americans have witnessed massive destruction at the hands of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The total economic damage – according to Joel Myers, president of AccuWeather – could be as high as $290 billion – $100 billion in Florida and $190 billion in Texas. In Crosby, Texas, there were two blasts at a chemical plant … [Read more...]
Pollution Fines Decrease Under Trump
According to a recent report released by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), President Donald Trump’s administration has not been collecting nearly as many fines for breaches of environmental law. Whereas the previous three presidents (Obama, Bush Jr. and Clinton), received an average of $30 million in fines during their first six months in … [Read more...]
House Passes Major Spending Package
On July 27th, the US House of Representatives passed a spending bill containing a whole range of provisions including one devoted to funding President Trump’s US-Mexico border wall. The spending package passed mostly along party lines, with five members from each party voting against the grain. The legislation accounts for approximately $800 … [Read more...]
White House Adviser Stephen Miller Talks About Statue of Liberty & Immigration
https://youtu.be/6Z-tOhfpEow From C-SPAN: Exchange between Senior White House Adviser Stephen Miller and CNN's Jim Acosta on the Statue of Liberty and immigration. Full video here: http://cs.pn/2vty7bW … [Read more...]
Congressional Republicans Work With Trump to Fill Judiciary Vacancies
When President Trump came into office he was tasked with filling over 100 vacancies in federal courts all over the country – mostly US District Courts. Since then he has worked month by month to fulfill that duty. In May, the White House released the names of 10 nominees for positions in lower courts and a month later it announced 11 more. And … [Read more...]
The EPA Can Continue to Stall the Chlorpyrifos Ban
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman led the charge earlier this month to join a legal battle against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its decision to allow the controversial pesticide, Chlorpyrifos, to remain on the market. Schneiderman was joined by a number of states – including, Maryland, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts … [Read more...]
House Passes Two Anti-Immigration Bills
In a display of solidarity with the anti-immigration Trump administration, the United States House of Representatives passed two measures in June that, if confirmed by the Senate, would establish xenophobic policies in the US. Kate’s law, named after Kathryn Steinle who was shot by an illegal immigrant, would increase the maximum penalties for an … [Read more...]
