White House declares monkeypox a public health emergency
The Biden administration on Thursday officially declared monkeypox a public health emergency, a move that's aimed at freeing up emergency funding and improving distribution of vaccines and treatments. "We are prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us tackle this virus," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said during a briefing. The announcement comes amid intense criticism that the Biden administration failed to recognize the sever
Read MoreSecret spending by the weapons industry is making us less safe
Two thousand, four hundred. That’s how many expensive and dysfunctional F-35 fighter planes American taxpayers are paying to have built, as part of a defense system that may never be fully ready for combat. Two hundred billion dollars. That’s how much American taxpayers would save if Congress decided to end this program now. That’s $200 billion that c
Read MoreFive ways China appears to be retaliating against Taiwan over Pelosi visit
China has expressed anger after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) touched down in the island nation of Taiwan earlier this week. Pelosi made the trip despite warnings from the Biden administration and threats from Beijing that a visit to Taiwan, which China claims as its own, could fuel U.S.-China tensions. Pelosi touched down in Taipei on Tuesday after
Read MoreCheney challenger Hageman takes firm stance on 2020: ‘the election was rigged’
Harriet Hageman, the top primary challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney (R) for Wyoming's lone House seat, said on Wednesday that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” against former President Trump, her firmest public stance on the election yet. Hageman was asked at a candidate forum whether she believed the election was stolen, as Trump and his allies have falsely claimed. “I think this question is so interesting because the press just absolutely cannot get
Read MoreJudge rejects federal plans for fossil fuel mining in Powder River Basin
A federal judge on Wednesday night threw out two resource management plans developed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), finding they failed to account for the risk of fossil fuel leasing on public lands in Montana and Wyoming. The plans, developed during the Trump administration but defended in court by the Biden BLM, outline how much coal can be mined and burned on public lands in parts of the Powder River Basin, which covers parts of southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming. The basin is the source of more than 85 percent of federally-produced coal in the U.S. In 2018, Judg
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