Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
Most Likely to be Number 2 Banana – Trump is closing in on a vice presidential pick, with the vetting process in full swing. Trump will make the announcement sometime between now and the end of the Republican National Convention on July 21. Read the about the most likely picks in The Hill.
Prisons > College – Since 1990, state and local spending on prisons and jails has risen more than three times faster than spending on schools, and in some states the spending disparities are far greater. Read more in The Washington Post.
Pull the Plug – A showdown over Planned Parenthood has moved to the center of the battle over funding to battle the Zika virus. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Zika funding bill put forward by Republicans, objecting to a range of measures, including most prominently limits on funding for Planned Parenthood. The bill allows Zika funding for community health centers and other providers but not Planned Parenthood. Read more in The Hill.
Adequate? – Researchers are concerned that the U.S. government is not properly funding scientific research. Read more in The Atlantic.
Different Triggers – The fatal shootings this week of the African-American men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have stirred a public outcry and debate about the role race plays in the decision by police officers to use deadly force. Such debate is nothing new. Scholarly discourse and research on the tumultuous connections between race and policing dates back decades. Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
After Jupiter – This week, NASA is celebrating Juno‘s arrival at Jupiter, but in less than two years, Juno will be gone — it’s slated to plunge into the gas giant and burn up. The Cassini spacecraft, now orbiting Saturn, will meet the same fate next year. What’s next for NASA? Not much. Read more at NPR.
Crazyness! – Every political convention is full of ups and downs, and the conventions at the end of the month show hold the promise of a national convention with the prospect that something unexpected might actually happen. Read more in Politico.
Mind Games – How restaurants get you to order more expensive things or things with the largest margin. Read more at New York Magazine.
Being Pro-Cop & Pro-Black Lives Matter. Thank you Trevor Noah. See the video via Esquire.