Gains By Boycott Movement Seen As Major Threat In Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Ten years ago, a small group of Palestinian activists had a novel idea: Inspired by the anti-apartheid movement, they called for a gl... Read more

Dinesh D'Souza Circulates Fake Photo Of Hillary Clinton With Confederate Flag

From our favorite Liar For Jesus:  Conservative author and convicted felon Dinesh D'Souza usually reserves his Twitter feed for promoting odd contests about himself or cracking incompre... Read more

Skeptic's Guide to the Universe #520

• Forgotten Superheroes of Science: Vera Rubin
• Movie Review: Jurassic World
• News Items: Breast Milk Snake Oil, Volocopter, Kennewick Man Follow Up, Sixth Extinction
• Who's That Noisy
• Dumbest Thing of the Week: Kim Jung-un
• Your Questions and E-mails: IT Rant
• Science or Fiction

Interview:

http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/520

Kathleen DuVal: “Independence Lost” (Diane Rehm Show)

When thinking about the American Revolutionary War, the founding fathers, Paul Revere and militia men fighting for independence from Britain are first to come to mind. But an historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says there is much more to the story. In a new book, professor Kathleen DuVal explores how marginalized groups who lived outside of colonial society changed the outcome of the war. Slaves and Cajun exiles along the gulf coast fought against the British for their own reasons. And some Native Americans Indians chose not to assist the British at crucial moments. We hear a new take on the American Revolution.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-07-02/kathleen-duval-independence-lost

The Push To Mandate Vaccines For Schoolchildren (Diane Rehm Show)

California’s new school vaccine law is one of the toughest in the nation: It requires all students to be vaccinated before they can attend public or private school. Medical exemptions are still allowed, but parents will no longer be able to forgo vaccinating their children because of religious or personal objections. Public health officials are praising the move. But California’s vocal anti-vaccine contingent is up in arms. A movement is already underway for a ballot initiative to repeal the law that Gov. Jerry Brown signed this week. We look at mandatory vaccines across the country — and the battle between parental rights and public health.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-07-02/the-push-to-mandate-vaccines-for-schoolchildren

Catholics Are Super Sad Gay People Can Get Married Now

Catholicvote.org wanted to make their position clear on gay marriage. They released a video where young people were discussing how they view marriage has being between a man and a woman. Are they acting as victims of persecution? John Iadarola and Ana Kasparian (The Point) hosts of The Young Turks discuss.

"In a video released the day before the landmark marriage equality decision by SCOTUS, CatholicVote.org has marriage equality opponents say something they're been "afraid" to speak out about. They confess that they are against marriage equality. The emotional video features several marriage equality opponents explaining why they don't want gay people to get married. Several of them even tear up towards the end of the video and talk about their "gay friends." It's hard to believe this video is even serious."
https://youtu.be/SFt9WuseoJo

Matthews Blasts Cruz: SCOTUS 'Seized' 2000 Election, 'You Did Not Complain' (VIDEO)

MSNBC's Chris Matthews had a largely cordial interview with presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday, until he called him out for railing aga... Read more

Everything You Need To Know About Martin O’Malley’s Debt-Free College Plan

Martin O'Malley unveiled his debt-free college plan in New Hampshire, where average student debt is highest.  ... Read more

Why This Tea Party Congressman Wants To Stop Debating Whether Climate Change Is Real Or Not

"All the chatter about is climate change real or not, I'm not sure how that helps my constituents," he said.  ... Read more

Lindsey Graham Makes Case for War

"Radical Islam is not going to be compromised with. They are religious Nazis. Somebody better go over there and hit them before they hit us," Graham said Wednesday. "There is no alternative to going in on the ground and pulling the caliphate up by the roots. If that scares you, don't vote for me."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/lindsey-graham-makes-case-for-war/ar-AAcJKIq

2016 Candidate Promises To Wage War In Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq

"If you're war weary, don't vote for me," the 2016 candidate told a D.C. audience Wednesday.  ... Read more

Catholic School Teacher Suddenly Fired After Parents Find Out About Her Wife Of 8 Years

This Catholic school provides a reminder that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" doesn't work.  ... Read more

Congressman: Stop Worrying About Climate Change, Focus On Crimes Against Christians

Instead of climate change, Rep. Jeff Duncan said DHS should worry about "illegal aliens murdering beautiful innocent lives" and ... Read more

IMF warns U.S.: Your financial system is (still) vulnerable

... new threats to the system -- like big banks that have grown even bigger -- have formed over the past few years and efforts to safeguard the system have not been finished... Read more

Obama plans to put solar panels on low-income homes

The measures also include money to deploy AmeriCorps workers to install solar in low income areas as well as revamped guidelines on using government-backed second mortgages to finance solar systems.
Read more

Government shuts down debt relief scam

If credit card debt relief sounds too good to be true, it probably is...
Read more

Baltimore eatery skips restaurant week to feed the homeless

"I just wish people would treat the homeless in a different way," he said. "People should remember it's always good to hear kindness and it's important to look people in the eye. The homeless feel less human -- like they're invisible. They just want to be respected."
Read more

CVS quits Chamber of Commerce over tobacco-friendly lobbying

"It was the right thing to do for the health and well-being of our customers," CVS said in a statement announcing it had left the group, adding the company's "purpose is to help people on their path to better health, and we fundamentally believe tobacco use is in direct conflict with this purpose."
Read more

Oregon passes a bill to offer free community college

The Oregon state legislature passed a bill last week with bipartisan support that ensures that if eligible students apply for federal grants for community college, the states will cover the remainder of their tuition...
Read more

An International Embarrassment

Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke on the Senate floor about child poverty and youth unemployment in America.
http://youtu.be/wk0-eKo5rIk