Good morning — and Happy Constitution Day to our friends in India! Here are some of the stories we’re reading this morning as we get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday…
Stat of the day: 162,300 — the number of cases in which federal prosecutors tried to obtain a grand jury indictment in 2010. They failed in only 11 of them, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Aftermath–> We put together a roundup of key news and analysis following the grand jury’s decision not to prosecute Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. MEANWHILE: Protests continued around the country on Tuesday. In Minneapolis, a car plowed into a group of demonstrators. One woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the vehicle was questioned by police and an investigation is ongoing, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. A similar incident occurred in St. Paul. ALSO: The Ferguson public library announced that it would remain open while schools were closed, and promised the community that they’d have teachers on hand to welcome its children. The announcement spread across social media, and Catherine Thompson reports for TPM that library officials have since been overwhelmed by a huge number of donations coming in from across the country.
“Sweeping new controls” –> Coral Davenport reports for the NYT that the White House plans to announce a “long-delayed environmental regulation to curb emissions of ozone, a smog-causing pollutant linked to asthma, heart disease and premature death.”
Surrender? –> Igor Volsky reported for ThinkProgress that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had struck a tax “compromise” with House Republicans that would “permanently extend relief for big multinational corporations without providing breaks for middle or lower-income families.” Reportedly, the deal would also phase out all tax breaks for clean energy but keep fossil fuel subsidies in place. The post was later updated to add that a White House spokesperson said Obama would veto any such deal, and that Harry Reid’s office denied that it had been finalized, but this is something to keep an eye on. (Back in April, we wrote about the “army of lobbyists” who have been pushing these tax breaks.)
“Conspiracy” –> That’s how Bloomberg Businessweek describes a leaked oil-industry-sponsored plan to undermine California’s 2006 law curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Brad Wieners reports.
Calling their bluff? –> Two Democratic senators introduced a climate bill that they hope might gain Republican support — it would impose a revenue-neutral tax on carbon sources at the border, and return all of the revenues to taxpayers. Dana Nuccitelli has the details at The Guardian. AND: Outgoing GOP Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas is “trying to cement his legacy by naming a scientific theory charging climate change is natural after himself,” according to National Journal’s Jason Plautz. Climate scientists say what might become known as “The Stockman Effect,” which holds that the planet is warming as a result of changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, is a theory that’s totally unsupported by scientific evidence.
“Was Moses a Founding Father?” –> At The Atlantic, Zack Kopplin looks at the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Texas’ historically challenged right-wing history textbooks.
Beating a dead BENGHAZI!!! –> Just four days after House Republicans issued a report shooting down every Benghazi conspiracy floated since the 2012 attacks, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he’s reappointing the members of a House special committee on Benghazi. AND: Alexander Bolton reports for The Hill that “Senate Republican leaders are under pressure from GOP lawmakers with presidential ambitions to join the House in investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack.”
Some good news –> San Francisco passed a landmark Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights on Tuesday. Dave Jamieson has the details at HuffPo.
Deal –> Utah settled a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on Tuesday by agreeing to scrap three of the more problematic provisions in its controversial immigration bill. Brady McCombs reports for the AP. AND: At Bloomberg Businessweek, Josh Eidelson writes that the “tech worker shortage” Obama’s immigration order is supposed to help address “doesn’t really exist.” AND: Jeremy W. Peters reports for the NYT that Obama’s move on immigration is breathing new life into the tea party movement.
Keepin’ Seattle weird –> We’ve applauded Seattle’s progressive government as it established a $15 per hour minimum wage and passed a very “human-centric” budget. But Mayor Ed Murray may have taken it a step too far at a City Hall ceremony last week when he pardoned a turkey made entirely of tofu. A spokesperson explained to The Seattle Times that “the mayor has a sense of humor.” The paper reports that “the tofu turkey, named Braeburn after the apple variety, will ‘live out its natural life’ at the Rainier Valley Food Bank.”
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