Trump’s first full education budget: Deep cuts to public school programs in pursuit of school choice

The cuts would come from eliminating at least 22 programs, some of which Trump outlined in March. Gone, for example, would be $1.2 billion for after-school programs that serve 1.6 million children, most of whom are poor, and $2.1 billion for teacher training and class-size reduction.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/trumps-first-full-education-budget-deep-cuts-to-public-school-programs-in-pursuit-of-school-choice/2017/05/17/2a25a2cc-3a41-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin -- The Washington Post

Sergei Kislyak's account of the meeting was captured by U.S. intelligence. Read the full story

Does an HHS appointee believe abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer? -- The Washington Post: Analysis

Charmaine Yoest, the new assistant secretary of public affairs for Health and Human Services, in 2012 touted a discredited theory that abortion increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. Read the full story

Trump might be president, but Mike Pence is the real liar-in-chief

On Oct. 3 2016, Mike Pence took to the stage for his first and only US vice presidential debate—and calmly lied through his teeth about Donald Trump for 90 minutes. He lied about whether Trump had said more countries should have nuclear weapons. He lied about Trump saying he wanted to punish women who had abortions. He lied about Trump defending dictators. He lied about Trump doing business with Russia. Every time his opponent, vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine, brought up a statement by Trump—a public, documented statement, the veracity of which Americans could easily validate—Pence did not embellish. He simply smiled and lied....
https://qz.com/992053/will-donald-trump-get-impeached-mike-pence-would-not-be-a-better-us-president/

Mitch McConnell Just Sent a Revealing Signal to Donald Trump

Are Senate Republicans close to giving up on Obamacare?
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/mitch-mcconnell-donald-trump-health-care

Stephen Puts The CBO's '23 Million' Estimate Into Perspective

The Congressional Budget Office predicted the House's healthcare plan would cover 23 million fewer Americans over the next ten years....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1t6kwdtEhE&feature=youtu.be

C.B.O. Has Clear Message About Losers in House Health Bill

The Senate now has a clearer sense of who would win and lose under the health bill the House sent them. It also got a startlingly direct message from government analysts about how destabilizing one of the House ideas could be.

The Congressional Budget Office published its assessment of the House health bill on Wednesday, and warned that a last-minute amendment made to win conservative votes would result in deeply dysfunctional markets for about a sixth of the population. In those places, insurance would fail to cover important medical services, and people with pre-existing illnesses could be shut out of coverage, the budget office said....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/upshot/cbo-has-clear-message-about-losers-in-house-health-bill.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20170526&nl=upshot&nl_art=0&nlid=78638145&ref=headline&te=1

President Trump Fails NATO

President Trump’s first NATO meeting was the moment to show that he would honor the example of his predecessors in leading a strong and unified alliance that has been and should remain the anchor of Western security. He failed....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/opinion/donald-trump-nato-russia.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20170526&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=0&nlid=78638145&ref=headline&te=1

It’s All About Trump’s Contempt

For journalists covering domestic policy, this past week poses some hard choices. Should we focus on the Trump budget’s fraudulence — not only does it invoke $2 trillion in phony savings, it counts them twice — or on its cruelty? Or should we talk instead about the Congressional Budget Office assessment of Trumpcare, which would be devastating for older, poorer and sicker Americans?

There is, however, a unifying theme to all these developments. And that theme is contempt — Donald Trump’s contempt for the voters who put him in office....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/opinion/trumpcare-cbo-federal-budget.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20170526&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=3&nlid=78638145&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0

Jeff Sessions’ tough-on-crime schtick does not apply to white-collar criminals

Ten days after reinstating draconian sentencing rules in drug cases, Sessions let a megabank skate on money-laundering. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, right, and President Donald Trump have pledged a return to old hardline law enforcement practices — but not for white-collar crime. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/jeff-sessions-soft-on-banks-tough-on-minor-offenses-7380295efc0

Democrats aren’t having it with Trump’s infrastructure plan

Trump is bent on privatizing America's infrastructure, but Democrats aren't going to get on board. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-privatize-infrastructure-democrats-324752d788f

The Nation: Democrats Are Launching a Commission to Protect American Democracy From Trump

In response to Trump's "election integrity" commission, the DNC is going on offense on voting rights. ...
https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-launching-commission-protect-american-democracy-trump/

How rightwing pundits are reacting to the Manchester attack

Many conservative writers have used the grief following the attack to fuel their fight against progressive thought – even if they have few solutions themselves ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/24/rightwing-pundits-manchester-attack-response

Neil Gorsuch can’t wait to get his hands on America’s campaign finance laws

The Supreme Court quietly handed a victory to supporters of campaign finance reforms on Monday, affirming a lower court decision upholding federal restrictions on "soft money" without issuing an opinion. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/neil-gorsuch-campaign-finance-laws-5bd2848755d1

Disappearing Data

The Trump administration has taken thousands of government records offline since it taking office. We're getting them back. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/disappearing-data-2d806ddc4388

Twin Peaks review – David Lynch reboot will baffle and irk even hardcore fans

Twenty-six years on, the return of the trippy show that raised the game for TV is less a whodunnit, more a what the hell is it? New viewers and cult followers alike will be sorely tempted by the off switch...

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/22/twin-peaks-review-david-lynch-reboot-will-baffle-and-irk-even-hardcore-fans

SSOE - Fueling the Future

Numerous studies have raised critical concerns about the promise of corn ethanol’s ability to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Some of the studies have suggested that after a full life cycle assessment—meaning an analysis of environmental impact throughout all stages of a product’s life—biofuels like corn ethanol may not offer any greenhouse gas emissions reductions relative to petroleum fuels....
http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/News/2017/Khanna-RSC-EES-Biofuel-Research/

Mississippi lawmaker says leaders who support removal of Confederate monuments ‘should be lynched’

The day after the city of New Orleans removed the last of its Confederate monuments from public display, a Republican lawmaker who represents the town where Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi wrote that leaders who work to have such monuments taken down "should be lynched." ...
https://thinkprogress.org/karl-oliver-mississippi-confederate-monuments-lynched-767c1be3c5b2

EPA transition leader says the agency is ‘an impending disaster for Trump’

"This is an impending disaster for the Trump administration." That's how Myron Ebell, the climate science denier who oversaw the transition team for President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, described the state of the agency to a conservative conference, according to tapes obtained by Reuters. ...
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-epa-budget-disaster-ab3da236ce3d

Dakota Access pipeline and a feeder line leaked more than 100 gallons in March

There were two leaks – one because of a leaky part, the other after an above-ground valve failed – as crews prepared disputed $3.8bn pipeline for operation ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/22/dakota-access-pipeline-oil-leak-energy-transfer-partners