“If it feels like the Trump presidency has been hit by non-stop scandals and crises from day one, it’s probably because it has been. The Google News Lab looked at the search trends for stories about 40 of the biggest news events of Trump’s presidency from Jan. 20 until Sept. 1. You can see how we’ve all jumped from one four-alarm news fire to another.” More …
HHS Secretary Price’s Private-Jet Travels Included Visits with Colleagues, Lunch with Son
More than two dozen trips taken by HHS Secretary Price on charter flights since May have cost taxpayers more than $400,000. More …
EPA Spending Almost $25,000 to Install a Secure Phone Booth for Scott Pruitt
“Typically, such soundproof booths are used to conduct hearing tests. But the EPA sought a customized version — one that eventually would cost several times more than a typical model — that Pruitt can use to communicate privately.” More …
Trump’s Job-Killing Plan to Kneecap the Solar Industry
“If President Trump were honest about which industries are the biggest job-creation powerhouses, it wouldn’t be the sluggish coal industry. It’s solar. More than twice the size of the wind industry and roughly five times bigger than the coal industry, solar accounted for one in every 50 jobs created in 2016, according to an annual by the Solar Foundation. But Trump will soon have the chance to cut off US solar from the cheap foreign panels that have led to the industry’s booming success the past few years.” More …
GOP Already Eyeing Next Chance to Revive Obamacare Repeal
“Senate Republicans are discussing whether to use their next budget reconciliation measure to target the health law.” More …
The Political Travesty of Puerto Rico
“Like all U.S. territories, Puerto Rico has no real representation in its own national government.” More …
Trump’s UNPAID-FOR-TAX-CUTS May Total $5 Trillion Dollars in New Tax Plan
“Trump’s tax cuts could total $6.7 to $8.3 trillion, $3 to $5 trillion of which may not be paid for by closing other tax loopholes and/or by limiting tax deductions. The resulting jump in the deficit threatens funding of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education and other vital services.” More …
How Puerto Rico Is Becoming Trump’s Katrina
“George W. Bush ate cake while New Orleans drowned – now Trump is making him seem statesmanlike by comparison.” More …
Trump Immigration Plan to Cost 4.6 million Jobs, Ivy League Study Finds
“President Trump is endorsing an immigration plan that will hurt job growth and the U.S. economy overall, according to two recent studies.” More …
Hurricane Harvey Wasn’t Just Bad Weather. It Was Bad City Planning.
“Houston exulted in sprawling, hands-off growth. That’s no way to prepare for natural catastrophes.” More …