News December 5

Senator Sanders

Climate Change Youth Summit The University of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are holding a youth summit on climate change. More than 150 high school students from around Vermont were expected to attend the event on Friday. They will work in small teams to come up with climate action plans for their high schools, The Associated Press and WPTZ-TV reported. LINK, VIDEO

Minimum Wage Workers Fast-food workers and others in low-paying jobs on Thursday launched one-day strikes across the United States demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage and union rights. Organizers said workers at major chains like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell walked off their jobs in more than 190 cities. Sen. Sanders spoke to protesters outside the Air and Space Museum in Washington, according to Yahoo News. LINK

Drug Price Gouging A Senate hearing this week chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders investigated the staggering cost of speciality drugs to treat the deadly hepatitis C virus — around $1,000 per pill for one drug, Sovaldi. Sen. Sanders is hoping to bring down the cost of the drug, which is commonly used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, The Fiscal Times reported. “We cannot leave VA providers in the position where they are forced to choose which veterans get treated... and which do not because of cost,” Sanders said. LINK  

Save the Postal Service A group of senators is trying to prevent the Postal Service from closing down dozens of mail processing facilities to cut costs. In a series of Senate speeches on Thursday, Sen. Sanders joined Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who noted that there are "a lot of people in Congress who would like to see the Postal Service go out of business,” The Hill reported LINK  

Wall Street Nominee William D. Cohan of The New York Times criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren for making "political hay" out of her opposition to Wall Street and a nominee for a Treasury Department post. Sens. Sanders and Dick also opposed the nominee, Mother Jones noted. LINK, LINK

Seniors Holiday Dinner Sen. Sanders will host a free holiday dinner for seniors next Friday in Bennington, Vermont. Sanders will hear seniors’ concerns and provide Vermonters with an update from Washington. The free turkey dinner will be catered by Bennington County Meals on Wheels and will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Bennington Banner reported. LINK

White House ’16, Iowa Sen. Sanders will hold a town hall meeting in Ames during an upcoming visit to Iowa. Sanders, a Vermont Independent who caucuses with Democrats, is expected to speak on topics such as college affordability, climate change and income inequality, and hold a question-and-answer session, the Ames Tribune reported. LINK

White House '16, New Hampshire Sen. Sanders told Portsmouth, New Hampshire's WCSA-FM he is determining how many people in America "are willing to stand up to the billionaire class and fight back."  Sanders told host Burt Cohen he expects he'll be back in New Hampshire "soon." AUDIO  

White House '16, Social Media An analysis of Facebook and Twitter data shows Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz generating more buzz, both pro and con, than other potential 2016 presidential candidates on social media, Politico reported. Sen. Sanders was in third place on the Democratic side after Clinton and Sen. Warren. Philip Bump of The Washington Post said the data "is not a revelatory metric." LINKLINK

White House '16, Cartoon “Bernie Sanders in 2016,” was the caption of The New Yorker’s cartoon of the day. LINK

World

Al Qaeda Threatens American Hostage Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen has threatened to kill an American hostage by the end of the week unless its demands are met, The Wall Street Journal reported. Although the demands of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are unknown, they frequently insist on hefty ransoms in exchange for the release of both western and local hostages. The price for western hostages usually reaches several million dollars. LINK

Canada Approves Burger King Deal The Canadian government has approved Burger King’s purchase of Tim Hortons on condition it maintains employment levels and list the company in Toronto, Bloomberg reported. LINK

National

Cleveland Police Cited for Abuse by Justice Department The Justice Department announced on Thursday that a nearly two-year civil rights investigation into the Cleveland Police Department had found a pattern of “unreasonable and unnecessary use of force” that resulted in dangerous and reckless behavior by officers, pointing out the kinds of problems that have angered black residents here and touched off demonstrations across the country in recent weeks, The New York Times reported. LINK

Military Sexual-Assault Reports Rise Rapes and sexual assaults reported by military service members increased 8 percent in 2014, according to a report released Thursday by the Pentagon that immediately reinvigorated the national debate over the military’s handling of sexual assault. Service members reported nearly 6,000 sexual assaults in 2014, up from about 5,500 in 2013 and 3,600 in 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

House Approves Defense Bill The House on Thursday passed a $585 billion defense bill that will further expand U.S. efforts to combat Islamic militants in the Middle East, NBC News reported. The legislation grants, which passed 300-119, President Barack Obama's request for funding to fight militants who have taken over parts of Iraq and Syria and authorizes training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels. It also continues to prohibit transferring prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States. LINK

LGBT Advocates Seek Civil RIghts Bill As barriers to same-sex marriage fall across the country, gay rights advocates are planning their next battle on Capitol Hill: a push for sweeping legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination, similar to the landmark Civil Rights Act that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed in 1964, The New York Times reported. LINK

House Condemns Obama Immigration Action Emboldened House Republicans issued a stern but symbolic rebuke to President Barack Obama over immigration Thursday, passing a bill declaring his executive actions to curb deportations "null and void and without legal effect," The Associated Press said. LINK

Vermont

FairPoint Investigation The Vermont Public Service Board is going to be investigating the service provided by the telecommunications company FairPoint Communications, The Associated Press reported. Earlier this week officials with the Department of Public Service filed a petition with the utility-regulating Public Service Board requesting the investigation. LINK

Dairy Program Deadline Extended The deadline for Vermont dairy farmers to enroll in a new price protection program has been extended to Dec. 19, according to The Associated PressLINK