Senator Sanders

Trade Deal As the Senate approves a measure to give President Obama “Fast Track” authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Sen. Sanders and other opponents are refocusing their opposition on the deal’s specifics, The Washington Post reported. LINK  

Corporate Greed "The average American understands that our middle class is disappearing, that 99 percent of all new income is going to the top one percent," Sen. Sanders said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Sanders made the case on “Morning Joe” that he has "taken on every element of the big-money interest in this country,” Newsmax wrote. "It is time to say loudly and clearly that corporate greed and the war against the American middle class must end. Enough is enough," Sanders said in a piece in The Huffington Post. LINK, LINK, VIDEO  

Immigration Sen. Sanders’ skeptics have questioned his commitment to immigration reform, noting that he failed to raise the subject during his 35-minute campaign kickoff. Sanders reacted quickly, pointing to his legislative record supporting liberal immigration reforms. "I myself am the son of an immigrant. Their story, my story, our story is a story of America," he is quoted in Seven Days. Sanders has painted his views on immigration through an economic lens, while also giving a personal anecdote about his own upbringing in an immigrant household, FOX News Latino reported. LINK, LINK  

Financial Transaction Tax Sen. Sanders is working with allies such as Sen. Brian Schatz to press for a vote on attaching his proposal for a financial transaction tax to other legislation. The Sanders proposal is projected to raise more than $1 trillion over 10 years, with the proceeds set aside for individual subsidies for higher education. "The American people understand that Wall Street is getting away with murder. It’s a way to raise substantial sums of money. And it would also put a damper on speculation,” Sanders said according to CQ Roll Call. LINK  

Grant for Brattleboro In a joint statement, Sens. Sanders and Leahy, and Rep. Peter Welch praised the $300,000 Community Development Block Grant awarded to Brattleboro and urged other members of Congress to increase funding for the crucial program, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. LINK   

World

Death Toll Tops 800 in Pakistan The death toll due to days of extreme heat in Karachi, Pakistan surpassed 800 people on Wednesday. Meteorologists expect the extreme heat wave to subside in the days ahead, The New York Times reported. LINK

National

Alabama Lowers Confederate Flags The Confederate flag flew high Wednesday outside the South Carolina Statehouse, but a large drape kept mourners from seeing it as they filed past the open casket of a veteran black lawmaker and pastor. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley became the first southern governor to use his executive power to remove Confederate banners, as four flags with secessionist symbols were taken down Wednesday from a large monument to rebel soldiers outside that state's capitol, The Associated Press reported.  LINK

Boston Marathon Bomber Sentenced to Death Moments before a judge sentenced him to death, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev broke more than two years of silence Wednesday and apologized to the victims and their loved ones for the first time. "I pray for your relief, for your healing. I am sorry for the lives that I've taken, for the suffering that I've caused you, for the damage that I've done — irreparable damage," he said according The Associated Press. LINK

Vermont

Child Care Commission A lack of high-quality early learning opportunities for Vermont’s young children has led the Vermont Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin to form a Blue Ribbon Commission on Financing High Quality, Affordable Child Care. LINK