Updating . . .

Senate report: Caltrans ‘gagged and banished’ Bay Bridge critics -- A California Senate report released Thursday said that Department of Transportation managers “gagged and banished” at least nine top experts for the new $6.5 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after they complained about substandard work by the Shanghai, China, firm that built much of the span. Charles Piller in the Sacramento Bee$ Jaxon Van Derbeken in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/31/14

Tesla breaks ground in Reno for Gigafactory, speeds up Model S production -- The electric-car car maker also said that it had broken ground in Reno, Nevada, on a site that could "potentially be" the location for the Gigafactory, a massive battery factory the company plans to build in partnership with Panasonic. But Tesla said that locations in four other Southwestern states remain possibilities. Dana Hull in the San Jose Mercury$ Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

Tesla and Panasonic to Build Battery Factory in U.S. -- The company said it estimated the plant and its associated supplier complex, which it is dubbing the “Gigafactory,” will employ 6,500 people by 2020. The company has not yet said where it will be located and is negotiating with several states. Aaron M.Kessler in the New York Times$ -- 7/31/14

Treasurer Lockyer: Push to extend Prop. 30 taxes inevitable -- State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said Thursday he predicted an inevitable political push to extend the 2012 tax hike known as Proposition 30, but he expects the measure will return to voters before it expires in two years. Allen Young Sacramento Business Journal -- 7/31/14

PUC judges to issue proposal for fine against PG&E in San Bruno case -- State regulatory judges are expect to issue proposal during August or September for the fines and punishments that PG&E should receive in connection with its role in the fatal explosion of a natural gas pipeline in San Bruno nearly four years ago, according to an official notice posted Thursday. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/31/14

PG&E shares plunge as investors ponder new criminal charges over San Bruno explosion -- PG&E shares plunged on Thursday, amid a slump in profits that were weakened by expenses related to improvements to its natural gas system, under scrutiny following a fatal explosion in San Bruno nearly four years ago. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/31/14

Occupy activists flock to Sacramento for national meeting -- They gathered Thursday under a stand of redwoods near the steps of the state Capitol, a modest mix of young people and the graying veterans of the progressive and protest movements. They came to Sacramento, in the words of one, to reclaim the public square. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

Million-dollar-plus home sales hit record in Bay Area -- In the nine-county region, 5,734 homes sold during the April-through-June period for at least $1 million, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. The previous peak was 5,699 in the second-quarter of 2005. Steve Johnson and Pete Carey in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/31/14

Million-dollar home sales hit seven-year high in California -- The number of homes that sold for $1 million or more in California hit a seven-year high in the second quarter, and sales north of $2 million reached a new record. Tim Logan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

California breaks drought record as 58% of state hits driest level -- More than half of California is now under the most se -- 7/31/14vere level of drought for the first time since the federal government began issuing regular drought reports in the late 1990s, according to new data released Thursday. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

California’s Biggest Water Source Shrouded in Secrecy -- Public information about groundwater is sketchy, even in regions where over-pumping is a chronic problem, according to the report from Stanford University’s Water in the West program, a project of the Woods Institute for the Environment and Bill Lane Center for the American West. Lauren Sommer KQED -- 7/31/14

California's proposed 2015 Obamacare premiums to rise 4 percent in 2015 -- Healthcare premiums will rise an average of 4.2 percent in 2015 on California's Obamacare insurance exchange, the largest of the state marketplaces established by President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, state officials said on Thursday. Sharon Begley and Caroline Humer Reuters -- 7/31/14

Kashkari says Jerry Brown ducking California’s economic issues -- GOP gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari said Thursday that the recent week he spent sleeping on the streets and looking for work in Fresno underscores the state’s continued economic struggles and the need for new leadership. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

Kashkari explains job-hunting stunt at Sacramento food bank -- With a hidden camera in his backpack and a professional videographer waiting outside, Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for California governor, said he walked into stores, restaurants and car washes throughout Fresno during a recent week spent posing as a regular guy in need of a job. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

See Neel Kashkari’s video of living on the street -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari said he spent a week living as a homeless person in search of a job to test Gov. Jerry Brown‘s claim that the state is making a comeback after the economic downturn, the Associated Press reports. Wanna guess what he concluded? Josh Richman in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/31/14

Kashkari: Brother, Can You Spare a Job? -- I spent a week as a homeless person, looking for work.The 'California Comeback' has a long way to go. Neel Kashkari in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/31/14

Myers: Can Underfunded GOP Candidate Outflank Jerry Brown on Poverty? -- It was a brief bit of bravado, the kind of thing every politician does. As the applause faded at the beginning of his annual State of the State address on Jan. 22, Gov. Jerry Brown took delight in chastising some of California’s critics. John Myers KQED -- 7/31/14

Billionaire Tim Draper's Mad Plan to Blow Up California -- A billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist who hit it big funding Hotmail, Skype, Tesla Motors (TSLA), and Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU), Draper has gone from Democrat to Republican to Libertarian to Draperist; the Draper party (of one) believes that government’s problem is that it lacks competition. Joel Stein Bloomberg Businessweek -- 7/31/14

Fox: Delaying Fuel Cost Piece of Greenhouse Gases Law Pits Blue Collar vs. Progressive Elites -- One of the most high profile bills in the legislative session that resumes next week just got pushed into the center of the spotlight. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 7/31/14

Rep. Mike Honda gets his House district wrong — listen to voicemail -- Seven-term Rep. Mike Honda is in a spirited re-election battle with fellow Democrat Ro Khanna to represent California’s 17th Congressional District in the South Bay. That’s the 17th District — although on his DC office voice mail, Honda invites his constituents from the “15th District” to get in touch. Oops. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/31/14

Same TV news crew victimized again in Oakland -- The same KPIX-TV news crew that was attacked and had a camera stolen during a live broadcast in Oakland in 2012 had their personal items stolen Thursday when thieves broke into their van in the city, police said. Henry K. Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/31/14

Sen. Leland Yee pleads not guilty to racketeering charge -- Suspended state Sen. Leland Yee Thursday pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges newly added to a federal case accusing him of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes and offering to set up international arms deals. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury$ Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

City probe calls for anti-nepotism reforms at LAFD -- The Los Angeles Fire Department needs new rules to prevent conflicts of interest and reform a firefighter hiring process “tainted” by concerns of nepotism, according to a new study by the department’s top watchdog. Ben Welsh in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

CIA apologizes, admits it improperly searched Senate computers -- The CIA on Thursday acknowledged that its employees inappropriately searched and pulled files from a Senate computer network set up as part of an inquiry into the CIA’s secret Bush-era interrogation program. Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

Jimmy Kimmel suggests acting Calif. governor should 'invade Oregon' -- What exactly is going on in the halls of power in California? On Wednesday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the host conducted a Skype interview with acting California Gov. Toni Atkins. Patrick Kevin Day in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

UCLA chancellor says damages from water pipe break in the tens of millions of dollars -- Scores of utility workers struggled Wednesday to plug leaking valves in Westwood after Tuesday’s ruptured water main spilled more than 20 million gallons onto Sunset Boulevard and portions of UCLA grounds. Brenda Gazzar, Jason Henry and Mike Reicher in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/31/14

UCLA flood from water line rupture is red flag for L.A. infrastructure -- As UCLA tallied the damage from rampant flooding triggered by the rupture of a 90-year-old city water line, Los Angeles city leaders on Wednesday were once again confronted with the consequences of deferred maintenance on the city's aging infrastructure. Emily Alpert Reyes, Matt Stevens in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

PG&E calls criminal charges against agency 'unwarranted,' says it didn't break the law -- In a statement posted on PG&E's website, the company calls the 2010 gas pipeline blast in San Bruno that killed eight and injured 66 people a "tragic accident" and said it has apologized and "taken accountability" for what occurred. Katie Nelson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/31/14

Independent Commission: Fix Parks System, Then Ask Voters to Pay For It -- Here’s the recipe from an independent commission to turn around a California Department of Parks and Recreation in turmoil after financial scandals and budget cuts: Fix the broken bureaucracy, then ask voters to approve new taxes or fees to pay for the parks system. Ben Adler Capital Public Radio Julie Cart in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Lawsuit challenges write-in rules under California’s top-two system -- An independent write-in candidate who ran in the primary to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging California’s ban on write-in contenders in the general election. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

A Long Slate of Mayoral Candidates Hints at a Rapidly Changing Oakland -- There were 19 candidates on the scorecard for the mayoral forum at the Acts Full Gospel Church here last month. Melena Ryzik in the New York Times$ -- 7/31/14

Horror stories of Bay Area bridge plate-reader glitches -- She was surprised in part because she didn't recall receiving the initial notice of violation, but also because she lives in Montana - and hadn't been to the Bay Area in more than six years. Kale Williams in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

Delta tunnel plan blasted by key environmental group -- The state's plan to build a pair of 35-mile tunnels under the Delta would cause the extinction of winter-run Chinook salmon, steep declines in dozens of other species and devastate water quality in San Francisco Bay, an environmental group said Wednesday. Carolyn Jones in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

San Jose police 1st in Bay Area with drone -- Department officials got the unmanned aircraft in January for just under $7,000 in federal grant money for the purpose of aiding the department bomb squad in assessing threats, police spokesman Officer Albert Morales told The Chronicle. Vivian Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

Oakland police officer fired over Occupy incident is reinstated -- A police officer fired for throwing a tear gas grenade into a crowd of Occupy Oakland protesters who were tending to a wounded comrade is getting his job back. Matthew Artz in the Oakland Tribune Henry K. Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/31/14

Black BART workers find racist threats on lockers, lawyer says -- A group of African American BART track maintenance workers say they were subjected to racist death threats at work last month - the latest incident in a continuing pattern of racial discrimination and harassment. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/31/14

Neel Kashkari, candidate for California governor, poses as homeless man -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari was five days into his job search and down to the last $5.75 when he turned to a homeless shelter for food. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

Jerry Brown undecided on debating Neel Kashkari -- Gov. Jerry Brown said Wednesday he has not yet decided if he will debate Republican Neel Kashkari in this year’s lopsided gubernatorial race, while Brown’s wife, Anne Gust Brown, suggested Kashkari is getting abundant air time with his frequent appearances on talk radio. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

In Mexico, a ‘new Jerry Brown’ on free trade -- Gov. Jerry Brown, who once opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement and criticized the “insertion of Mexico into our economy,” pushed back his chair at a breakfast here Wednesday and looked on from the head table as Mexico’s secretary of economy heaped praise on the pact. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

California Gov. Jerry Brown Highlights Immigration, Economy in Mexico Trip -- With an international stage and heavy coverage from the Mexican press, Mr. Brown, seeking a fourth term this fall, seized the opportunity to declaim on a variety of issues, including climate change, immigration policy, wait-times at the San Diego-Tijuana border and the shortcomings of online education offerings. Alejandro Lazo in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/31/14

Steinberg discusses ambitions after leaving the Legislature -- Senate leader Darrell Steinberg said Tuesday that he has mentioned his interest in being appointed to the California Supreme Court to Gov. Jerry Brown, but downplayed the likelihood that he would land such a position immediately after leaving the Legislature later this year. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

Business money and arena fight shape two Sacramento Assembly races -- In an election populated with Sacramento Democrats, David Townsend had little trouble deciding where to direct hefty sums from his business allies. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

'Shrimp Boy' pleads not guilty to racketeering -- The man prosecutors say headed a crime syndicate based in San Francisco's Chinatown has pleaded not guilty to a new charge of racketeering. Paul Elias Associated Press -- 7/30/14

CA GOP candidate hunkers down in Israeli bomb shelters -- Ron Nehring, California’s Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, is forgoing the usual campaign swings this week for something far riskier — he’s huddling in Israeli bomb shelters, tweeting just miles from the Gaza border. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

Greenhut: E-cig vote reveals a ban-happy mindset -- San Diego joins other councils to quash a beneficial product. Steven Greenhut UT San Diego$ -- 7/31/14

Economy, Employers, Jobs   

U.S. economy grows at 4% annual rate in second quarter -- The economy's strong second-quarter growth showed the recovery has regained momentum after a brutal winter and could signal a quicker end to the era of rock-bottom interest rates. Jim Puzzanghera, Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

Fed taper continues, on pace to end in October -- Citing the improving economy and a firming jobs markets, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it was again trimming its monthly purchases of government and mortgage bonds by another $10 billion and is on pace to end the program this year. Kevin G. Hall McClatchy DC -- 7/31/14

Pay raises show California government stabilized -- Sacramento’s economy gets a boost on Friday when state paychecks roll out with the first across-the-board raises many employees have received in years. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/31/14

Oakland nixes proposal to gradually increase minimum wage -- The Oakland City Council voted late Tuesday to scrap a plan that called for a gradual increase in the city's minimum wage for nonprofits and small businesses, instead leaving it up to the voters to consider a more aggressive proposal in November. Will Kane in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

BofA ordered to pay $1.3 billion over Countrywide lending program -- Countrywide Financial hustled to make the loans. Bank of America, once again, is picking up the bill for the damages caused — the latest buffeting since the bank's disastrous acquisition of the Calabasas high-risk lender six years ago. E. Scott Reckard in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

Richmond approves massive Chevron refinery project with $90 million in community benefits -- Chevron's five year-plus quest to initiate a $1 billion upgrade to its century-old refinery, the largest in Northern California, was approved by the City Council late Tuesday after the company and city staff hammered out a last-minute deal upping community investments and installing safety and piping upgrades as part of the project. Robert Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/30/14

'Renters are sobbing' as Silicon Valley rents rise $390 a month since 2012 -- How high can Silicon Valley rents go? That's the billion-dollar question for residents and real estate pros alike during the region's current tech boom, which is generating reams of housing reports that attempt to portray just how expensive it is to live here. Lauren Hepler Silicon Valley Business Journal -- 7/30/14

Is Raiders stadium roof proposal over the top? -- Planners for a new, largely privately financed Oakland Raiders stadium are considering something even more ambitious than the towering seats of Mount Davis - a retractable or transparent roof. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/30/14

Amgen's stock soars to record high on news of planned job cuts -- Amgen shares jumped to an all-time high Wednesday morning, a day after the biotech giant announced a restructuring plan that includes up to 2,900 job cuts. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Strong 2nd-quarter growth puts recovery back on track, economists say -- The U.S. economy’s better-than-expected expansion in the second quarter fueled optimism that growth was back on an upward trajectory, allaying fears that the recovery might have been derailed during a sharp winter slowdown. Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Herdt: A park grows in Los Angeles -- Nearly every great city has a great park. Mention the words “Central,” “Golden Gate” or “Balboa” and the names of the host cities for those grand, center-city parks come instantly to mind. It has never been so for Los Angeles — although, inspiringly, that history is now being rewritten. Timm Herdt in the Ventura Star$ -- 7/30/14

L.A. is working on major zoning code revamp -- Los Angeles passed a law last year requiring bicycle racks within 50 feet of the front door of many new buildings. But a problem surfaced immediately: The federal Americans With Disabilities Act requires handicapped parking spaces with an easy path to the door clear of things like bikes. Tim Logan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

Education

Federal bills would crack down on college sexual assault -- Congressional legislators in California and several other states took aim at campus sexual assault Wednesday, introducing two bills that would require universities and colleges to provide more support and training to combat the problem. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Program helps students chart their future -- Cold hard cash might have been the incentive that originally enticed hundreds of San Francisco high school students to give up part of their summer vacation for an academic tutoring and career program. But it wasn’t long before the things they were doing and learning overshadowed the stipend. Michelle Maitre EdSource -- 7/31/14

Drought  

Drought contributing to waterfowl deaths; public asked to help -- California wildlife officials are asking the public to help spot ducks, geese and other waterfowl that may be suffering from disease linked to the drought gripping the state. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

Annenberg Foundation donating $500,000 to assure water for center -- Amid California’s crippling drought, the aquifer beneath LARC Ranch is empty, and LARC’s wells have run dry. A permanent solution is both expensive and tangled in a bureaucratic mess involving multiple government agencies. Scott Gold in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Salmon will only get more water if die-off starts -- A federal agency said Wednesday it will release extra water into Northern California's Klamath and Trinity rivers once salmon start dying from drought-related disease, but not before. Jeff Barnard Associated Press -- 7/31/14

Immigration / Border

Border battle: House GOP moves to block Barack Obama -- House Republicans will vote to rein in the Obama administration’s power to halt deportation for undocumented immigrants — a surprise move that comes as they struggle to attract support for their bill to address the crisis at the border. Jake Sherman and Seung Min Kim Politico -- 7/31/14

Senate GOP’s border strategy -- Senate Republicans have been searching for a strategy to deal with the crisis at the border. On Wednesday, they found one: the House Republican bill. Burgess Everett Politico -- 7/31/14

Steinberg staffers will represent immigrant kids -- State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s staff counsel will help provide free legal services to undocumented, unaccompanied children arriving in California from Central America. Josh Richman Political Blotter -- 7/31/14

Immigration poll finds Americans cool to border-crossing children -- Americans are wary of granting refugee status to children crossing the U.S. border to flee strife-torn countries in Central America, and most in an Associated Press-GfK poll say the U.S. does not have a moral obligation to accept asylum seekers generally. Jennifer Agiesta and Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 7/30/14

What happens to migrant children after the Border Patrol detains them? -- The child immigrant crisis on the southern U.S. border had been at the top of the news for weeks, but less attention has been given to what happens to the children immediately after U.S. Border Patrol agents seize them. Rachael Bale Center for Investigative Reporting -- 7/31/14

Environment

Assemblyman to hold hearing in Montclair on preparedness, handling of rail oil tanker emergencies -- Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez has scheduled an informational hearing to collect testimony on the preparedness of first responders to deal with an emergency involving the transportation of petroleum by rail. Monica Rodriguez in the San Bernardino Sun -- 7/31/14

L.A. Using Only a Fraction of its Rooftop Solar Potential -- Los Angeles has installed only two percent of the rooftop solar that's feasible in the city, and raising that figure to just ten percent would create 47,000 new jobs. That's according to a new report from UCLA's Luskin Center for the Environment and Environmental Defense Fund. Chris Clarke KCET Rewire -- 7/31/14

Osprey expand nesting areas to San Francisco Bay shoreline -- Scientists aren't sure why the raptors have made the move. They speculate it may have something to do with changes in bay water quality, clarity and abundance of fish. Denis Cuff in the Contra Costa Times$ -- 7/31/14

Also . . .

UCLA says Pauley Pavilion will be ready in fall -- UCLA's athletic teams will be able to use Pauley Pavilion when competition begins in the fall, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said Wednesday. Zach Helfand, Everett Cook, Chris Foster and Melissa Rohlin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

UCLA flood: Estimate of gallons lost in main break doubles to 20 million -- The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Wednesday doubled the estimated amount of water lost in a massive main break that flooded UCLA to 20 million gallons. Larry Gordon, Matt Stevens in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Ancient water pipes, costly problems -- Water pipes laid beneath Orange County nearly a century ago could give way at any moment, unleashing floods big enough to close streets and force evacuations, city water officials acknowledged Wednesday. Morgan Cook in the Orange County Register$ -- 7/31/14

BART tests new Oakland Airport tram -- This week, the transit agency ran all four of the Oakland Airport Connector trains simultaneously on the new elevated tracks, which will provide the first rail connection to the airport. Samantha Clark in the Oakland Tribune -- 7/31/14

UCSD spots possible hazard on space station -- Experiments that UC San Diego crafted for astronauts aboard the International Space Station have revealed the existence of a comparatively cool type of flame that represents a previously unknown safety hazard for the orbiting outpost. Gary Robbins UT San Diego$ -- 7/31/14

Movie Film, at Death's Door, Gets a Reprieve -- Faced with the possible extinction of the material that made Hollywood famous, a coalition of studios is close to a deal to keep Eastman Kodak Co. in the business of producing movie film. Ben Fritz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/31/14

NSA / Surveillance   

BitTorrent unveils NSA-proof online calling and messaging software -- BitTorrent Inc., the San Francisco company behind the most popular technology for sharing files online, is branching out into a new arena: snoop-proof calling and texting. Jon Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/31/14

POTUS 44    

In campaign mode, Obama slams Republicans for 'hating all the time' -- Having apparently given up on charm, golf and persuasion, President Obama on Wednesday went for taunting sarcasm in his long-fruitless attempt to persuade Republicans to work with him. Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/30/14

Beltway

House Votes to Move Forward on Lawsuit Against Obama -- The House of Representatives voted Wednesday night to do what became inevitable weeks ago: proceed with a lawsuit to sue President Obama over executive actions related to Obamacare. The vote was split along party lines, with nearly all Republicans voting in favor of pursuing the lawsuit and all Democrats opposed. Billy House and Matt Berman National Journal Lauren French Politico -- 7/30/14

Feinstein pushes against internet gambling -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein continued her push against expanding gambling in California, writing a letter Wednesday urging Attorney General Eric Holder to support a bill to ban internet gambling. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/30/14

House approves VA reform bill -- In a strong bipartisan vote, lawmakers backed the $17 billion compromise bill crafted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). The Senate is expected to sign off on the legislation later this week. Lauren French Politico -- 7/30/14

Stephen Colbert Scoops Up Sarah Palin’s Domain Name -- Two competing Sarah Palin websites have launched in recent days. The first is called “Sarah Palin Channel,” and it offers subscribers a 24-hour newsfeed of pure, unmediated Palin for $99.95 a year. The second is called “The Sarah Palin Channel” (emphasis ours), and it promises to be “The only Sarah Palin Channel on the internet with a definite article in the address!” (emphasis theirs). Dan Kedmey TIME -- 7/31/14