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What We’re Reading This Week, February 8-12

Here’s a selection of articles Federal Relations is enjoying this week.

Falling Apart – Congress and the White House were so close to a grand bargain, and then, shortly, the $4 trillion ‘grand bargain’ collapsed. Read more in Roll Call.

Snowzilla 2016
Snowzilla 2016

 

Mandatory vs. Discretionary – In December, Congress and the White House came to a two-year spending plan that was supposed to lead to a temporary truce in the annual federal budget wars. Obama broke that truce, at least in the eyes of most Republicans, with a 2017 budget request that aims to use revenue not covered by that agreement to boost the budgets of several research agencies. The fiscal legerdemain is likely to trigger even more of a partisan standoff with Congress and darken an already cloudy picture for U.S. researchers who rely on federal funding. Reach more in Science. 

Rich Housing – Building more luxury housing actually helps poor housing, because more demand means more supply, and more supply means prices fall…according to economists. Read more in The Washington Post. 

Smoke ‘Em – Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to fight opioid abuse with pot. Read more in Vox. 

Getting Over You – Psychologists reveal that, no, you’re never really over your first love. Read more in the Washington Post. 

Super Delegate – What are they? And why is Bernie’s 20 point win over Hillary not really affecting the superdelegate race? Read more in Vox. 

Gravity Waves – In a massive scientific breakthrough, researchers have discovered gravity waves – something that Einstein predicted in 1916. Read more in Science.