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Climate panel Democrats clean up with energy donors

The nine Democrats on the new House committee tasked with shaping climate change policy collected $238,000 from the oil, gas and utility industries for their 2018 campaigns, according to campaign finance data reviewed by the Center for Responsive Politics.

"Outside Washington D.C., it's common sense: politicians setting climate policy shouldn't be taking money from the corporations and executives who have fought for decades to stop action on climate change in order they can protect their bottom lines," Stephen O'Hanlon, a spokesman for the progressive Sunrise Movement, told Bloomberg News.

Republicans have not named their delegates to the panel, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The top recipient among the Democrats, at $120,0000, was New Mexico's Ben Ray Lujan, who chaired the party's House campaign operation last cycle and was his state's chief utility regulator before winning election to Congress a decade ago. The chairwoman, Kathy Castor of Florida, received $7,500.


Some panel Democrats received contributions from environmental groups as well as renewable energy companies that could benefit from legislation mandating reduced carbon emissions. Only one of them, California freshman Mike Levin, has pledged to disavow any donations from fossil fuel business.

"Rejecting the industry's influence by taking the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge should be a prerequisite to these discussions," David Turnbull, a spokesman for Oil Change USA, part of the coalition behind the pledge, told Bloomberg. "By joining the committee, these members have shown they're interested in tackling this issue; they can show they're serious about showing true climate leadership by standing up to the industry directly."

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Insider trading in Washington, DC

U.S. senators and representatives with access to non-public information are permitted to buy and sell individual stocks. It’s not just unethical; it sends the message that the game is rigged.

Getty Images, Greggory DiSalvo

Insider Trading: If CEOs Can’t Do It, Why Can Congress?

Ivan Boesky. Martha Stewart. Jeffrey Skilling.

Each became infamous for using privileged, non-public information to profit unfairly from the stock market. They were prosecuted. They served time. Because insider trading is a crime that threatens public trust and distorts free markets.

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Supreme Court Changes the Game on Federal Environmental Reviews

A pump jack seen in a southeast New Mexico oilfield.

Getty Images, Daniel A. Leifheit

Supreme Court Changes the Game on Federal Environmental Reviews

Getting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from both parties for Congress and federal agencies to reform that process, there had been few significant revisions – until now.

In one fell swoop, the U.S. Supreme Court has changed a big part of the game.

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Growing Up Latina in Georgia, We Feared More Than ICE

An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed.

(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Growing Up Latina in Georgia, We Feared More Than ICE

Last month, about an hour north of where I grew up in suburban Georgia, 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a mistaken traffic stop. Though granted bond on May 21, Ximena Arias-Cristobal is still facing deportation despite residing in Georgia since she was four years old.

While supporters nationwide have rallied around Ximena Arias-Cristobal, raising nearly $100,000 for her legal defense, this case serves as a solemn reminder that Latinos, especially in the South, are being surveilled. As someone who grew up Latina in a predominantly white suburb of Georgia, I also know that this surveillance isn’t limited to that by the state but ingrained into the fabric of our everyday lives.

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Scams Targeting Immigrants Take Advantage of Fears of Immigration Status and Deportation

Scam incoming call alert screen on mobile phone.

Getty Images/Stock Photo

Scams Targeting Immigrants Take Advantage of Fears of Immigration Status and Deportation

WASHINGTON–When my phone rang and I saw the familiar DC area code, I picked up, and a man with a slight Indian accent said: “Ma’am, this is the Indian Embassy.”

Expecting a response from the Indian Embassy for an article I was working on, I said, “Is this in regards to my media inquiry?” He said no. He was calling about a problem with my Indian passport. I asked who he called, and when he said a name I didn’t recognize, I informed him he had the wrong person and hung up, figuring it was a scam.

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