Senator Sanders

Community Health Centers Thousands of additional Vermonters are expected to receive more affordable health care this year thanks to $2.4 million in federal funds to designate three new federally-qualified health centers in Arlington, Bristol and Randolph. Sen. Bernie Sanders has championed such facilities and fought to secure the additional funding. “That means about 160,000 people are getting good quality health care at an affordable cost, dental care, mental health counseling and access to the lowest cost prescription drugs in America,” Sanders told WCAX-TV in a report broadcast Saturday and Sunday. LINK, VIDEO

NSA is Out of Control “It’s been called the 4th secret branch of government. Now, it’s about time to gather intel on the NSA—what are they doing, why they are doing it, who are they doing it to, etc. As Sen. Bernie Sanders has said, these folks got a lot of expensive toys at their disposable and they are out of control,” Jamala Rogers wrote in a column for The St. Louis American. LINK

Vermont Republicans Vermont Republicans on Saturday chose former state Rep. David Sunderland as party chairman over John MacGovern, who ran against Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2012 and had the support of party conservatives, including outgoing chairman Jack Lindley. Sunderland was backed by many state legislators and Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, Vermont Public Radio and WCAX-TV reported. MacGovern said Republicans should defend “the right to life” and protect “marriage,” Vermont Press Bureau reported. LINK, LINK, LINK, VIDEO

World

Massive Deaths in Wake of Philippines Typhoon The super typhoon that tore through the Philippines caused unconfirmed estimates of at least 10,000 dead bore down on central Vietnam on Sunday, already ranking as one of Asia’s most damaging natural disasters in recent decades, The Washington Post reported. LINK

Iran Nuclear Talks End with No Deal Two days of marathon negotiations, by far the most direct and extended high-level contact between the United States and Iran in more than three decades, ended early Sunday without agreement on an interim plan on Iran’s disputed nuclear program, The Washington Post reported. LINK

National

Health Care Con Men With millions of Americans frustrated and bewildered by the trouble-prone federal website for health insurance, con men and unscrupulous marketers are seizing their chance. State and federal authorities report a rising number of consumer complaints, ranging from deceptive sales practices to identity theft, linked to the Affordable Care Act, The New York Times reported. LINK

Vermont

Leahy to Hold Hearing on Prison Crowding Vermont’s senior U.S. senator is continuing to use his role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to highlight the problem of overcrowding in federal prisons. Sen. Patrick Leahy has called a hearing of his committee for this Thursday in Washington to discuss what he calls the federal prison population’s unsustainable growth. He has joined with Republican Sen. Rand Paul in sponsoring legislation to give federal judges more flexibility in sentencing and to move away from mandatory minimum sentences in many cases, The Associated Press reported. LINK