Explainer: Trump’s plans to control the media

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump and his FCC Chairman Brendan Carr getting booed loudly at the latest public meeting where Carr is now trying to destroy free speech and overhaul the ownership rules to allow Trump’s right-wing oligarchs to consolidate ownership and control of all local tv channels and Meiselas interviews former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler who led the FCC under Obama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyF2fyeCseU

Air pollution may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia risk – here's what we're learning from brain scans

... The U.S. government had an opportunity to strengthen those standards in 2020, a move that EPA scientists explained could prevent thousands of premature deaths from health risks such as heart disease. Scientists advocated tougher standards, citing other health problems linked to PM2.5. However, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler declined, announcing on Dec. 7 that the standards would remain unchanged...

https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-may-contribute-to-alzheimers-and-dementia-risk-heres-what-were-learning-from-brain-scans-148776

The EPA declines to reduce pollutants linked to coronavirus deaths | TheHill

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reportedly declined to implement tighter constraints on air pollution standards for fine particulate matter or hazardous particles that linger in the air and can have adverse health effects when inhaled. ProPublica and the Times-Picayune report that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is expected to double down on this decision against the backdrop of continued COVID-19 transmission, which primarily attacks the body’s respiratory system. The particulate matter in question is soot, which is emitted from burning wood and coal, oil refining and vehicle engines. The current EPA annual standards limit particulate matter to 12 micrograms per meter, down from a previous 15.....
https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/522128-the-epa-declines-to-reduce-pollutants-linked-to

Another toxic EPA cookbook | TheHill

President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s environmental agenda — massive cuts to the EPA budget, short-circuited environmental reviews, reduced enforcement, weaker rules and scores of rollbacks of environmental protections — is shamelessly out of step with overwhelming public support for protecting the environment. The main strategy for selling this toxic stew has been to highlight its “benefits” and downplay its harms. Not content with that, the Trump administration is also working on new tricks to cook the books and hide the benefits of environmental protections.....
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/518790-another-toxic-epa-cookbook

Wheeler seeks to paint EPA regulatory rollbacks as environmentally friendly | TheHill

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Monday sought to portray some of the agency’s most significant regulatory rollbacks as environmentally friendly. During a speech at the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute, the country’s top environmental official touted rules governing regulation from power plants, vehicle emissions and methane emissions as actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also praised the agency’s move to regulate aviation emissions.....
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/517390-wheeler-seeks-to-paint-epa-regulatory-rollbacks-as-environmentally

EPA decides to reject the latest science, endanger public health and ignore the law by keeping an outdated fine particle air pollution standard

On April 30, 2020, the agency published a proposed new rule that retains current National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter without any revisions. It took this action after a five-year review process, in which scientific evidence showed unequivocally that these standards are not adequate to protect public health.
https://theconversation.com/epa-decides-to-reject-the-latest-science-endanger-public-health-and-ignore-the-law-by-keeping-an-outdated-fine-particle-air-pollution-standard-136226

The EPA Is Using The Coronavirus As An Excuse To Relax Rules Against Big Polluters, Lawmakers Say

“This pandemic isn’t an excuse for polluters to ignore the law and for EPA to let them get away with it,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/warren-epa-coronavirus-letter-polluters

EPA’s chemical decision worries Republicans - POLITICO

The chemicals PFOA and PFOS are linked to dangerous health effects and have been found in millions of Americans' drinking water. ....
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/29/epa-chemical-decision-republicans-1129824

The latest example of a Trump adviser going bananas - The Washington Post: Opinion

Yet another Trump official has fallen under scrutiny for racist behavior.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-administration-is-back-to-its-racist-monkey-business/2018/10/10/59d635d6-ccd0-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html

While everyone is looking at the Senate, the EPA is being taken apart - Daily Kos

The Environmental Protection Agency will now go forward without the office that advises the agency on science. That office will be "dissolved," eliminating the feedback on the scientific basis for health and environmental regulations. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799629

The wonderful world of asbestos - Daily Kos: Cartoon:

Scott Pruitt's gone, so now the acting EPA administrator can get to work poisoning Americans. After asbestos, my bet's on them putting lead back into gasoline. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1787224

Another Trump Rule Goes Up In Smoke - Mother Jones

The Trump administration suffered yet another setback this week. Here's the timeline: March 2017: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday reversed an Obama administration recommendation to ban a pesticide linked to nervous system damage in children....
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/08/another-trump-rule-goes-up-in-smoke/

Pruitt Is Gone. But These Five E.P.A. Policy Battles Are Still Ahead - The New York Times

Here's how Andrew Wheeler, Scott Pruitt's successor, is expected to roll back rules on power plants, water pollution, car emissions and more. ....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/climate/pruitt-wheeler-epa.html

A Former Coal Lobbyist Will Now Be #2 At The EPA - BuzzFeed News

The confirmation of Trump's pick for second-in-command at the EPA comes amid growing scrutiny of the agency's head, Scott Pruitt. ....
https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/andrew-wheeler-epa

The Unfortunate Application of Statutes of Limitation and Davino Watson (Opening Arguments OA92)

In today’s episode, Andrew reluctantly — but definitively — opines that the Second Circuit got the law right in dismissing out the claims of Davino Watson, who argued that he was falsely imprisoned by the U.S. government for 3 1/2 years.

We begin, however, with a question about Donald Trump from conservative listener Sage Scott. Is it really a big deal to just listen to the Russians? Couldn’t you just pay them if their stuff turns out to be useful? No. The answer is no.

In our main segment, Andrew explains why statutes of limitation are necessary and why the Second Circuit got it right in dismissing out Watson’s false imprisonment claim even though the circumstances are awful.

Next, the guys break down Rod Wheeler’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Why is this part of Yodel Mountain? Listen and find out!

Finally, we end with an all-new (and fiendishly hard!) Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Question #35 about a hospital’s duty to third parties when releasing a patient with homicidal ideation. Remember that you can play along with #TTTBE by retweeting our episode Tweet along with your guess. We’ll release the answer on next Tuesday’s episode along with our favorite entry!
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa92-unfortunate-application-statutes-limitation-davino-watson/

Behind Fox News' Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale (NPR's Morning Edition)

...Wheeler alleges Fox News and the Trump supporter intended to deflect public attention from growing concern about the administration's ties to the Russian government. His suit charges that a Fox News reporter created quotations out of thin air and attributed them to him to propel her story...
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story

In Final Speech, FCC Chief Tom Wheeler Warns GOP Not to Kill Net Neutrality (VICE)

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler delivered an impassioned defense of US net neutrality protections on Friday, one week before Republicans who have vowed to roll back the policy are set to take control of the agency. In his final public speech as the nation's top telecom regulator, Wheeler warned that Republican efforts to weaken FCC rules ensuring that all internet content is treated equally will harm consumers, stifle online innovation, and threaten broadband industry competition....
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/fcc-chief-tom-wheeler-warns-final-speech-neutrality