Mar 11, 2017

Trump backer out at Energy Dept. after anti-Muslim tweets surface

Ben Geman, author of Generate

The Energy Department cut ties Friday with Sid Bowdidge, a political appointee and former Trump campaign worker who has made inflammatory anti-Muslim comments on Twitter, according to Buzzfeed and other outlets. Bowdidge had been working at DOE's Office of Technology Transitions, but as Greentech Media notes he appears to lack any related policy background.

In 2015 the massage therapist from New Hampshire responded on Twitter to a CNN tweet about the San Bernardino shooters with a tweet stating: "Scum suckling maggots of the world. Exterminate them all." He has also tweeted that "Obama won't use the term radical Islam because they're his relatives!!!!"

Why it matters: Trump's operation has already been under the microscope for installing temporary "beachhead" political appointees at agencies who have little or no relevant experience.

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Orion Rummler
15 mins ago - Technology

Twitter launches warnings on election misinformation and delays

Photo courtesy of Twitter.

Twitter will start pinning notices to the top of all U.S. Twitter users’ timelines warning them that results in next week’s election may be delayed and that they may encounter misinformation on mail-in voting.

Why it matters: Delayed election results are expected across many states that are handling unprecedented amounts of absentee and mailed ballots, which President Trump has baselessly called "very dangerous" and "corrupt."

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Miriam Kramer, author of Space
23 mins ago - Science

NASA confirms water exists on sunny parts of the Moon

Photo: NASA/JPL/USGS

Water on the Moon might be more easily accessible than previously thought, opening up new possible avenues for future human exploration, according to a new study.

Why it matters: NASA is aiming to send people back to the Moon as part of its Artemis program by 2024, with plans to eventually create a sustainable presence on the lunar surface. That sustainability relies on mining the moon for its resources, like water.

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Axios
Updated 52 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Pence no longer expected at Amy Coney Barrett's final confirmation vote

Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Vice President Mike Pence no longer plans to attend the Senate's final confirmation vote for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Pence aide confirmed to CNN and Politico on Monday. On Sunday, Senate Democrats' claimed that his presence after possible exposure to the coronavirus would be a "violation of common decency."

Driving the news: Five of Pence's aides were recently diagnosed with COVID-19, including his chief of staff, who is currently quarantining. Pence has continued his campaign travel despite his possible exposure, which goes against CDC guidelines.

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