Internet

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Begins to Free the Internet From Burdensome Overregulation
Citizens Against Government Waste
April 26, 2017
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) praised Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai today after his announcement of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that is intended to reconsider the imposition of an outdated regulatory regime on the internet.
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See Also Media and the Press
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Discrimination and Hate

AJC PRAISES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S COMMITMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM, HOLOCAUST DENIAL
American Jewish Committee
April 25, 2017
AJC praised President Trump for his passionate address today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Days of Remembrance ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.
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Media and the Press

RSF’s index stresses threats against journalists in Asia, audiences’ need for free press
Broadcasting Board of Governors
April 26, 2017
The media environment in Radio Free Asia’s broadcast region further declined, according to Reporters Without Borders’s 2017 Press Freedom Index. Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report’s findings underscore the importance of RFA’s mission in countries that censor and restrict access to independent, reliable news and information. Seven of RFA’s nine language services operate in countries that were ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the survey, with North Korea ranked dead last, and China and Vietnam named the world’s biggest jailers of bloggers and journalists.
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9th Circuit urged to uphold First Amendment freedoms of investigative journalists
Alliance Defending Freedom
April 21, 2017
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that encourages the full court to take up the case of David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress and uphold First Amendment freedoms for investigative journalists.
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Nutrition

Dennis M. Bier presents the ARS W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture at the Experimental Biology meeting in Chicago on April 25.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
April 25, 2017
ARS established the W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture in 1968 to honor the memory of Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907) and to recognize scientists who have made unique contributions toward improving the diet and nutrition of people around the world. Considered the father of modern nutrition research and education, Atwater was the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) first chief of nutrition investigations.
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50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat
NPR Red River Radio
September 13, 2016
In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, according to a newly published article in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Prisons

Policy Shifts Reduce Federal Prison Population
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
April 25, 2017
A decline in the number of federal prosecutions and in the severity of sentences for drug-related crime in recent years has resulted in a significant drop in the federal prison population, according to statistics from the Judiciary, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
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Abortion

Shaheen, Blumenthal Lead Call for UN Ambassador Haley to Reverse Course, Reaffirm U.S. Commitment to Global Reproductive Rights
Senator Jeanne Shaheen - (D - NH)
APRIL 20, 2017
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today led a letter calling on United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to reverse course and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to global reproductive rights. The U.S. has long supported sexual and reproductive rights abroad through foreign aid and development programs, but the Trump Administration has taken actions recently threatening these rights. In their letter, the Senators said that recent actions, such as stating at the Commission on the Status of Women that the U.S. does not recognize an international right to abortion, demonstrate a blatant disregard for the integral role that sexual and reproductive health play in women's lives and hinder the U.S.’s ability to achieve its foreign policy and development goals.
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Religion

Shaheen, Senators Question DHS About Revoking Global Entry Status Based on Religion
Senator Jeanne Shaheen - (D - NH)
APRIL 21, 2017
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined a group of Senators on a letter questioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about reports that it is revoking the membership of dozens of people enrolled in its Global Entry Program on the basis of religion. The Global Entry Program allows expedited clearance for certain travelers arriving in the U.S. who have undergone significant background checks. The letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly was also signed by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE) Ed Markey (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).
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Farmers and Ranchers

SCHUMER SPEAKS TO TRUMP ABOUT CANADA’S UNFAIR DAIRY PRICING POLICY
Senator Charles E. Schumer- (D - NY)
April 21, 2017
“President Trump and I spoke yesterday about reversing Canada's new and unfair dairy-pricing policy. It is an unwise policy that violates our agreements and hurts our farmers, and we agreed to work together to immediately address the issue. Since Canada’s damaging policies also impact dairy farms in Wisconsin, I suggested reaching out to Speaker Ryan. The three of us, in conjunction with Senator Tammy Baldwin and other stakeholders, will develop a comprehensive plan to tackle this issue. We can all agree that, it is critical to level the playing field for our hard-working dairy farmers and make sure our Canadian neighbors rescind their unfair policy and again play by the rules,” said U.S Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer.
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Weather

Thune Statement on Enactment of Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act
John Thune - (R - SD)
April 19, 2017
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has legislative jurisdiction over the National Weather Service (NWS), issued the following statement on the announcement that President Donald Trump has signed into law H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. The bill, of which Thune was the lead Senate sponsor, includes sweeping reforms to federal forecasting to improve seasonal forecasting, monitoring and clearly communicating information about extreme weather events, the availability of aircraft systems for hurricane tracking, and the use of commercial data that have been collectively called “the first major piece of weather legislation adopted since the early 1990s.”
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Schatz-Thune Weather Research And Forecasting Legislation Signed Into Law
Brian Schatz - (D - HI)
April 19, 2017
Leaders on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology which exercise legislative jurisdiction in their respective chambers over the National Weather Service (NWS) today, issued the following statements on the announcement last night that President Donald Trump has signed into law H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. The bill includes sweeping reforms to federal forecasting to improve seasonal forecasting, monitoring and clearly communicating information about extreme weather events, the availability of aircraft systems for hurricane tracking, and the use of commercial data that have been collectively called “the first major piece of weather legislation adopted since the early 1990s.”
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Syria

CNN: Neoconservatives are blind to the risks in Syria
Senator Rand Paul - (R - KY)
April 19, 2017
It seems that every dictator and every atrocity in that region is met with a call for action without a thought to consequences. Those who wish to send our soldiers to "take care" of every atrocity in the world might want to take a glance at Maplecroft's Human Rights Risk Atlas, which currently lists 35 countries as extreme risks for committing atrocities. Are we prepared to send our military to right the wrongs of all 35 countries?
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