Jan 27, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Over 50 lawmakers challenge Trump on his strict marijuana laws

Photo: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

President Trump received a letter on Thursday from 54 Republicans and Democrats, pressing him to have Attorney General Jeff Sessions "reinstate Obama-era policy that gave states leeway" in marijuana legalization, the Hill reports.

Why it matters: Sessions rescinded a 2013 policy called the Cole Memo, which kept "federal prosecutors from bringing marijuana-related charges in states that had legalized recreational use," per the Hill. The bipartisan group of lawmakers who wrote to Trump say this violates states' rights.

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Axios
39 mins ago - Podcasts

The fight over fracking

Fracking has become a flashpoint in the election's final week, particularly in Pennsylvania where both President Trump and Joe Biden made stops on Monday. But much of the political rhetoric has ignored that the industry has gone from boom to bust, beset by layoffs, bankruptcies and fire-sale mergers.

Axios Re:Cap digs into the state of fracking, and what it means for the future of American energy, with Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group.

Axios
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Democrats sound alarm on mail-in votes

Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Democrats are calling a last-minute audible on mail-in voting after last night's Supreme Court ruling on Wisconsin.

Driving the news: Wisconsin Democrats and the Democratic secretary of state of Michigan are urging voters to return absentee ballots to election clerks’ offices or drop boxes. They are warning that the USPS may not be able to deliver ballots by the Election Day deadline.

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Orion Rummler
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere sentenced to life in prison

Carts full of court documents related to the U.S. v. Keith Raniere case arrive at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in May 2019. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere, 60, was sentenced to 120 years in prison on Tuesday in federal court for sex trafficking among other crimes, the New York Times reports.

Catch up quick: Raniere was convicted last summer with sex trafficking, conspiracy, sexual exploitation of a child, racketeering, forced labor and possession of child pornography. His so-called self-improvement workshops, which disguised rampant sexual abuse, were popular among Hollywood and business circles.

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