Justices Reject Health Care Review
The Supreme Court rejected a request for a review of the Obama administration’s health care reform bill on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reports. A conservative legal group from California brought the suit to the Supreme Court in what was admittedly a long-shot request, as the Supreme Court rarely hears cases before they have been fully litigated in lower courts; notably, Justices Elena Kagan and Clarence Thomas participated in the court’s dismissal of the case. At least 20 more states have challenged the Supreme Court to repeal the health care law.
Keith Olbermann Will Return to MSNBC Tuesday
The Huffington Post reports that Keith Olbermann will be back on the air Tuesday. The “Countdown” host was suspended indefinitely after it was revealed that he had contributed money to Democratic campaigns without seeking approval, violating NBC News policy. MSNBC colleagues and reporters from other news networks jumped to support Olbermann; Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute journalism think tank said, “What we’ve seen in the last five years is the rise of these personalities that eclipse the journalism that these organizations do.” After reinstating Olbermann, MSNBC President Phil Griffin stated, “I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night’s program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy.”
BP Didn’t Cut Corners to Save Money, Oil Spill Investigators Find
The bipartisan White House commission looking into the BP oil spill have found no evidence yet that BP, Transocean or Halliburton sacrificed safety to save money, The Hill reported. The panel, officially called the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, has not discovered evidence “where human beings made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,” said chief counsel Fred Bartlit, although they have also found that Halliburton and BP knew weeks ahead of time that the cement being used to seal the well was faulty.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
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