Senator Sanders

Grotesque Inequality The nation’s income gap continues to widen as Washington lawmakers consider cuts to vital programs that help middle-class Americans stay afloat. “What we need to do is focus on job creation, raising the minimum wage, changing our trade policy and paying attention to the middle class rather than the billionaires and multinational corporations,” Sen. Bernie Sanders told Ed Schultz on MSNBC on Tuesday. Sanders called growing income inequality in the United States “grotesque.” VIDEO

A ‘Remarkable Turnaround’ on Gay Rights As Democrats and Republicans in support of ENDA rose to voice their support, senators opposed to the bill sat quietly, passing on opportunities to take the floor and speak out against the legislation. “It is really a remarkable turnaround," Sen. Sanders told U.S. News & World Report. "Republicans did not offer up anybody because they now see it as bad politics to oppose gay rights.” LINK

Solar Research A new federally funded solar research center located in Williston, Vt., was announced on Monday.  Sen. Sanders pushed for the U.S. Energy Department to locate the center in Vermont, NECN-TV reported. LINK

VA’ ‘Image Problem’ Sen. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, chided VA officials for not providing his committee with the agency’s views on pending legislation in a timely manner. He warned the VA that even if it didn’t want to engage, he and Congress would press on. “Our job is to legislate,” Sanders said, “and we’re going to go forward with or without the cooperation of the VA and the administration.” The point was among several cited by Politico in a report on the department’s failure to address its “image problem.” LINK

Home Heating Vermont lawmakers welcomed the release of $16.6 million in federal home heating assistance for low-income Vermonters this winter, FOX-44 reported. “Much more must be done," said a joint statement issued by Sens. Sanders and Patrick Leahy and Rep. Peter Welch. VIDEO

World

U.S., Russia Fail to Agree on Syria The United States and Russia failed on Tuesday to agree on a date for a Syrian peace conference due to disputes over who should attend and the agenda, Reuters reported. UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi hopes to hold a meeting before the year’s end. LINK

India Launches Its First Mars Mission India on Tuesday successfully launched its first spacecraft bound for Mars, USA Today reported. LINK

British Ambassador to Address Spying Claim Germany summoned the British ambassador to hear a formal protest on Tuesday after reports suggested that British intelligence runs an eavesdropping center in Berlin, The Telegraph reported. LINK

152 Bangladeshis Sentenced to Death A court in Bangladesh sentenced 152 people to death for their actions in a 2009 border guard mutiny in which 74 people were killed, The Guardian reported. Human rights groups have criticized the government for the mass trial of 846 defendants. LINK

National

Medicare Chief Testifies before Senate on HealthCare.gov Troubles Testifying Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Marilyn Tavenner said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hopes to enroll 800,000 people by the end of November for insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who supports President Obama’s health-care law, said trust in the program is dwindling. Other Democrats expressed confidence that once the Web site is fixed, the benefits of the law will become more apparent, The Washington Post reported. LINK

White House Asks Insurers for Help White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough met with insurance company executives on Tuesday to help with “communication and education efforts” in the midst of widespread public complaints about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported. LINK

Farm Bill Negotiators Resume Talks House and Senate negotiators on the conference committee to hash out differences between the two chambers’ farm bills are resuming talks this week with the goal of passing a deal before Thanksgiving, Politico reported. LINK

Chilton Leaving CFTC Bart Chilton, who pushed for strict oversight of Wall Street, said on Tuesday that he plans to leave the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Chilton announced his departure at a commission meeting during which a rule he long championed to place curbs on speculation in commodities markets was reproposed, after an earlier version was knocked down by a judge last year, Politico reported. LINK

Monsanto Buys Another Election on Food Labels Washington voters Tuesday were rejecting a measure that would have made the state the first in the nation to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. The measure trailed 45 to 55 percent — a margin that appeared impossible to overcome.  It was a stunning reversal for an initiative that two-thirds of voters supported in early polls. But opponents, backed by Monsanto and other large agribusinesses, outspent proponents by a ratio of nearly 3-to-1, making the initiative campaign one of the costliest in state history, The Seattle Times reported. LINK        

Election Results Bill de Blasio will become New York’s first Democratic mayor in two decades. He ran against economic inequality and portrayed New York as a “tale of two cities,” one rich, the other working class. In Virginia, Democratic insider Terry McAuliffe won the governor's race by narrowly beating Tea Party favorite Ken Cuccinellie. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won a re-election bid that propelled him to the top of the list of Republican White House hopefuls for 2016. LINK, LINK, LINK

Vermont

State Settles With Gas Firm AmeriGas Propane LP, the nation's largest retail propane gas dealer, is going to pay $545,000 in fees, donations and penalties to settle a case that alleged the company violated Vermont consumer protection laws, the Burlington Free Press reported. The allegations included not promptly removing propane storage tanks or issuing refund checks after consumers terminated propane service, as well as charging a fee for reading propane meters without proper disclosure. LINK

Call Centers Profit During Health Rollout The rollout of HealthCare.gov and state-run health care exchanges has provided a profitable opportunity for government contractors, Vermont Public Radio reported. Vermont has contracted out Maximus to run call centers for Vermont Health Connect, and an un-redacted copy of the contract is posted online. LINK

Health Officials Questioned Senior officials with the administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin on Tuesday received tough questions from lawmakers about the troubled performance of the Vermont Health Connect health insurance exchange, the Burlington Free Press reported. LINK

Rutland Addiction Treatment Center Vermont’s fourth regional treatment center to help treat people with opiate additions opened Tuesday in Rutland, the Burlington Free Press reported. Gov. Shumlin and Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen attended the grand opening of West Ridge Center for Addiction Recovery. LINK