Progressive Briefing for Thursday, August 9, 2018

The first ever Muslim Congresswoman, Zinke blames wildfires on environmentalists, Trump wants to open California's public lands to fracking, and more.

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Detroit could soon vote in America’s first-ever Muslim congresswoman

After being elected to Michigan’s Legislature where she served in the House for 6 years, Rashida Tlaib is on track to become the United States’ first Muslim congresswomen. A daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Tlaib, 42 years old, won the Democratic primary and will soon run unopposed in the U.S. House race come January.

New York Congressman arrested for insider trading

Accused of participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud and insider trading, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) was arrested on Wednesday along with his son, Cameron Collins, and the father of Cameron’s fiancée, Stephen Zarsky. In addition to avoiding more than $760,000 in losses, Collins, his son, and Zarsky have also been charged with making false statements to FBI agents in an attempt to cover up their scheme.

Continuing ‘war on California’ and planet, Trump makes first move to reopen state’s public lands to fracking

The Trump administration on Wednesday took the first step toward lifting a five-year moratorium on leasing federal lands in California to oil companies in a move that conservationists warn could open up more than a million acres to fracking.

“We desperately need to keep these dirty fossil fuels in the ground. But Trump is hell-bent on sacrificing our health, wildlife, and climate to profit big polluters,” declared Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a notice of intent in the Federal Register on Wednesday detailing plans to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the potential impact of fracking on federal lands in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties.

Ryan Zinke sidesteps climate change in broadside blaming ‘radical environmentalists’ for wildfires

President Donald Trump finally took notice of the California wildfires earlier this week when he used the ongoing disasters to attack the state’s water policies and the nation’s environmental laws.

Trump’s perplexing comments were followed by an op-ed in USA Today by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, published Wednesday, that attacked “radical environmentalists” for using litigation to stop the federal government from employing methods to manage forests that they believe are harmful to ecosystems and wildlife.

Brock Turner loses ‘outercourse’ appeal, has to register as sex offender for life

Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer who was convicted of sexual assault back in 2016 but served only three months in prison, lost his appeal on Wednesday. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Last month, Turner’s lawyer argued that he pursued “outercourse,” not intercourse with his victim. But a three-judge panel at San Jose’s 6th District Court of Appeal upheld the original conviction.

 

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