Scott Walker skips debt payment due to budget shortfall, then dines with supply-siders

1. Wisconsin's Legislative Fiscal Bureau has announced that Governor Scott Walker's administration will skip a scheduled $108 million debt payment b...  Read more

Illinois Governor Seeking To Raid Higher Education Budget A Month After Being Sworn In

The multimillion dollar cut would hit a system already struggling with crumbling buildings, disappearing scholarships and ... Read more

Congressman Claims Immigrants Are Netting $24,000 Each From Obama’s Executive Action

This isn't the first time Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) conflated facts about undocumented immigrants. The post Congressman Claims ... Read more

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls out Giuliani for 'offensive' Obama comments

"As an American, I find Rudy Giuliani's vicious comments about President Obama 'not loving America' to be profoundly offensive to both the President and the Office," Schultz said in a statement.
Read more

Week In The News: ISIS And Radical Islam, Immigration Reform Hits Snag (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Shock and awe savagery out of ISIS this week. Twenty-one heads lopped off on a beach in Libya and a warning to the West. In Washington, President Obama laboring mightily not to be drawn into the language of religious war – and catching flak for that. We’ve got an ignored ceasefire in Ukraine. Jeb Bush on foreign policy. A federal judge in Texas blocking White House executive action on immigration for millions. Icy cold in the East. Weird warmth in the West. And a superbug in California. This hour On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/02/20/islamic-extremism-ukraine-ceasefire-immigration-reform

Friday News Roundup – Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

President Barack Obama defends his refusal to identify terrorists as Muslim extremists. At a White House summit on counterterrorism he said doing so would empower violent fanatics. The White House considers its options after a federal judge halts the president’s executive actions on immigration. Some Republicans say Congress should pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security without conditions. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush asserts his political independence ahead of a possible 2016 presidential bid. And the White House sets a deadline for a West Coast port settlement. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week’s top national news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-02-20/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup – International (Diane Rehm Show)

Ukraine accuses pro-Russian separatists of continued attacks despite a cease-fire. European officials meet to negotiate a Greek loan extension as the country faces insolvency as early as next week. President Obama calls for a global effort to combat terrorism. U.S. Central Command says it will support an Iraqi spring offensive to take back Mosul from ISIS fighters. And the U.N. says 2014 was the deadliest year for civilians in Afghanistan since it began keeping track.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-02-20/friday-news-roundup-international

What The Atlantic Left Out About ISIS According To Their Own Expert

There's more to the story of ISIS. The post What The Atlantic Left Out About ISIS According To Their Own Expert appeared first ... Read more

Black Primary School Students In Rhode Island Are 6x More Likely To Be Suspended Than White Peers

Another school-to-prison pipeline report highlights gross racial disparities in Rhode Island's education system. The post ... Read more

What ISIS Really Wants

The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Florist Who Refused to Work Gay Wedding to Appeal Court Ruling

Alliance Defending Freedom says the ruling threatens the financial ruin of 70-year-old Richland florist Barronelle Stutzman, along with her business, Arlene's Flowers. The organization says it will file the appeal on her behalf.
http://www.newsmax.com/US/appeal-gay-wedding-florist/2015/02/19/id/625841/

21 Things Atheists Are Tired Of Hearing

http://www.buzzfeed.com/natashaumer/atheists-are-evil

Delivering a package to a private residence

Read more

Careless Proposal: Kan. Legislator’s Bill Would Grant Special Privileges To Religious Foster Families

As written, Senate Bill 158 requires couples seeking this designation to be married and heterosexual, to abstain from alcohol and tobacco and to agree to attend a “social group larger than the family that meets regularly, preferably at least weekly” in order to qualify. Only one parent would be permitted to work outside the home.
... Read more

Woah!!!

Read more

Bill Donohue Demands Obama Attack Islam While Playing The Poor Picked On Christian Card

The Catholic League's Bill Donohue was back at it again, having another meltdown on air just before President Obama's speech this Wednesday on violent...  Read more

Republicans Really, Really Fear Russ Feingold

While there is rumor running rampant that Russ Feingold is going to return to Wisconsin to run for his old seat, it is not clear at this time how much...  Read more

Edward Snowden: US, British spies hacked cell phone SIM card encryption keys (+video)

In the latest revelation to come from NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, The Intercept reports that US and British intelligence services hacked into t... Read more

Canadian Company Behind Keystone XL To Seek US Approval For Second Pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Canadian company behind the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline will seek U.S. government approval for another pipeline — ... Read more

Bill O'Reilly Has His Own Brian Williams Problem | Mother Jones

"...for years, O'Reilly has recounted dramatic stories about his own war reporting that don't withstand scrutiny—even claiming he acted heroically in a war zone that he apparently never set foot in..."
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/bill-oreilly-brian-williams-falklands-war
http://youtu.be/W7UGC3quedc