Senator Sanders

Immigration Reform On Friday in front of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, Sen. Bernie Sanders made his strongest immigration push yet, reported CNN and Univision. Sanders believes that economic inequality is not only the biggest problem facing American society, but that it's at the root of most of the other issues facing the country, including immigration, wrote Dara Lind for Vox. During his speech to NALEO, Sanders focused on the exploitation of immigrant workers. "We cannot continue to run an economy where millions are made so vulnerable because of their undocumented status," Sanders said according to Seven Days. LINK, LINK, LINK, VIDEO  

Pension Cuts Sen. Sanders is pushing for legislation that he says will bolster pensions for millions of Americans by reversing a provision, included in a spending bill passed last year, that allowed pension plans to cut retiree benefits in an effort to shore up the plans' finances. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters appeared alongside Sanders at a rally for the bill late last week, reported The Hill. LINK  

Bill Maher Sen. Sanders talked climate change on Friday during an interview on HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher.” “I think what we want to do is to have, Bill, the idealism of kids. And what the kids are saying, for example, is that this country should lead the world in transforming our energy system and dealing with climate change. And that’s an issue we’re gonna talk about a whole lot.” Sanders went on to praise Pope Francis for issuing an encyclical calling for action to reduce climate change, Grist reported.  LINK  

World

Mass Extinction The earth is on the brink of it's sixth mass-extinction event, scientists say, and it is being caused by humans. In a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances, biologists found that the Earth is losing mammal species 20 to 100 times the rate of the past. Since 1900 alone, 69 mammal species are believed to have gone extinct, along with about 400 other types of vertebrates. This loss of biodiversity could have a traumatic impact on human lives as well. Still, scientists say, it’s possible to avert their gloomy predictions. They give us about a generation to make the changes needed to slow the rate of species loss, The Washington Post reported. LINK

War Crimes in Gaza A United Nations report into the 2014 Gaza war released Monday found that both Israel and Palestinian militant groups may have committed war crimes during the conflict. Both Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers quickly rejected the report's findings, which said Palestinian militants targeted civilians in their rocket attacks, while Israeli forces likely used "disproportionate" force in civilian areas of the Gaza Strip. More than 2,200 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, were killed during the fighting, according to U.N. and Palestinian officials, while 73 people, including six civilians, died on the Israeli side, The Associated Press reported. LINK

National

Fort Bliss Contract Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, who as the Army’s deputy commander for operations in the Middle East oversaw the training of Iraqi forces, was formally reprimanded in February for steering a defense contract to a firm run by two of his former classmates at West Point after a three-year investigation by the Army’s inspector general. Pittard is in trouble for his “excessive involvement” in awarding the $492,000 contract and for “creating the perception of preferential treatment,” according to his reprimand. The contract was an initial step in a $250 million project to make Fort Bliss self-sufficient in energy usage, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Vermont

Vermont Gas Hearings The Vermont Public Service Board will begin a set of hearings to determine whether to reopen approval of Phase 1 of the Addison Rutland Natural Gas Project. A series of cost hikes in the 41-mile pipeline have raised questions about Vermont Gas' ability to project expenses and manage the project prompted regulators to launch two investigations. Vermont Gas maintains that the pipeline remains in the best interest of Vermonters and should be built. Opponents of the project, which include landowners along the pipeline route, consumer protection advocates and renewable energy proponents, have asked the board to revoke approval. The hearings will take place Monday and Tuesday in Montpelier, The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK

Gas Price Fixing Two law firms have filed a class-action lawsuit against Chittenden County gasoline wholesalers and retailers alleging price fixing to the tune of more than $100 million in improper profits. Bailey Glasser LLP of Washington, D.C., and The Burlington Law Practice PLLC filed the antitrust case in Chittenden Superior Court in Chittenden County on Monday against R.L. Vallee Inc., SB Collins Inc., Champlain Farms/Wesco Inc., and Champlain Inc. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of “conspiring to fix the price of gas at artificially high levels,” The Burlington Free Press reported. LINK