Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling off US coasts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration moved Thursday to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would open up federal waters off California for the first time in more than three decades. The new five-year drilling plan also could open new areas of oil and gas exploration in areas off the East Coast from Florida to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades. While some lawmakers in those states support offshore drilling, the plan drew immediate opposition from governors up and down the East Coast, including Republican Govs. Rick Scott of Florida and Larry Hogan of Maryland, who pressed President Donald Trump to withdraw their states from consideration.
https://www.apnews.com/97e57e5f0f704590 ... -US-coasts
The NRA Raised a Record Amount of Money in 2016
And it spent tens of millions of dollars to get Trump elected.
The National Rifle Association’s political arm set a fundraising record in 2016, taking in a staggering $366 million......In 2016, the NRA devoted huge sums of money to winning back the White House and protecting Republican control of Congress.....They poured more than $54 million into electing GOP candidates up and down the ballot,....
As president, Trump—who benefited from $10 million in NRA spending backing his candidacy and another $19.7 million attacking Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton—has spoken at NRA events and pledged his loyalty to the group. “You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you,” he said at the NRA’s annual meeting last April.
“The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end. You have a true friend and champion in the White House.”
Sen. Feinstein Says Trump’s Social-Media Guru “May Have Corresponded With Russian Nationals”
The ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee has requested interviews with Dan Scavino and Brad Parscale.
President Donald Trump’s social-media manager, Dan Scavino, “may have corresponded with Russian nationals regarding Trump campaign social media efforts,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wrote Wednesday in a letter asking Scavino to agree to an interview this month with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein’s letter says the committee, where she is the ranking Democrat, has “received information” regarding Scavino’s potential communications with Russians. The California senator did not elaborate.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... nationals/
Blizzard / Bomb Cyclone rolls up the East Coast, with cold blast to follow
Winter storm breaches Massachusetts seawall, flooding streets
Storm pummels New Zealand's North Island, leaving thousands without power
Deadly winter storm pummels South
Winter Storm Grayson Brings Ice, Snow to North Florida
French Alps on maximum avalanche alert as Storm Eleanor rips through Europe
Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950,
Interior Department plans massive expansion of offshore drilling
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The Interior Department on Thursday proposed vastly expanding offshore oil and natural gas drilling, including in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, and Alaska. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced most of the nation's outer continental shelf is being considered for drilling, including off the coasts of Maine, California, Florida and Alaska. The proposal has drawn opposition from elected officials from both political parties in affected regions, as well as environmentalists, fisheries groups and the Department of Defense.
https://www.upi.com/Energy-News/2018/01 ... m_medium=2
Luck of the draw helps Republicans hold Virginia House
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans cheered Thursday when their candidate won a state House of Delegates race by luck of the draw, having his name chosen first out of ceramic bowl. But inside a conference room in Richmond’s Capitol Square, where the drawing was held, it was all agony of defeat and no joy of victory. That’s because Republican David Yancey skipped the drawing, while Democratic challenger Shelley Simonds and many of her supporters absorbed it in stunned silence. The drawing of lots took place after an election, recount and legal battles between Yancey and Simonds ended in a tie. Yancey’s win allows Republicans to maintain a slim majority in the House, though a final tally is still uncertain.
https://www.apnews.com/4637d8f5563f4927 ... inia-House
North Korea accepts January 9 talks offer from South Korea
SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea will hold official talks next week for the first time in more than two years after Pyongyang accepted Seoul’s offer for dialogue, just hours after the United States and South Korea delayed a joint military exercise. The talks will be held at the border truce village of Panmunjom and officials from both sides are expected to discuss the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the improvement of inter-Korean relations, ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a regular briefing.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nort ... SKBN1EU06O
Foes wary as Trump hands election probe to Homeland Security
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Voting rights advocates and some state election officials cheered President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was disbanding his election fraud commission, but their celebration could be short-lived. Trump spiked the commission late Wednesday amid infighting and refusals by numerous states to cooperate, but at the same time transferred its mission to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. That concerns some election officials and experts who had been critical of the commission.
“I am deeply concerned that the work is being shifted over to DHS where it can be done behind closed doors and without the sunshine offered from open public scrutiny,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday to The Associated Press.
https://www.apnews.com/8e1087c7eae7422e ... d-Security
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