Feds Performing Nationwide Emergency Alert

The federal government will perform a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System [EAS] Wednesday afternoon.

The test will take place across all radio and television stations in the U.S. at 2:00pm. It is being performed under the guidance of FEMA, the FCC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the [the Emergency Alert System] as a public alert mechanism,” a statement from the FCC reads. “The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.”

Wednesday’s test marks the first nationwide use of the system.

Mississippi Rejects Personhood Amendment

Mississippi voters rejected amending their state’s constitution to state that personhood begins at inception.

Amendment 26 would likely have restricted access to all forms of abortion abortion and, according to many critics, would have created a legal gray area, wherein women could be tried for miscarriages or in vitro fertilization could be outlawed.

Planned Parenthood, a pro-choice organization, praised the result as “a major victory for women’s health.”

“Mississippi voters rejected the so-called ‘personhood’ amendment because they understood it is government gone too far,” a statement from the organization reads.

Personhood USA, a pro-life group hosting a nationwide campaign to pass the amendment in multiple states, noted that the result was no unexpected, but that they will continue.

“We vow to continue on this path towards affirming the basic dignity and human rights of all people because we are assured that it is the right thing to do, and we are prepared for a long journey,” the organization says.

Ohio Rejects Collective Bargaining Law

By Andrea Salazar 

Ohio voters Tuesday overturned a law limiting the collective bargaining rights of the state’s public workers.

In a statement, Vice President Joe Biden called the vote a “a gigantic victory for the middle class.”

“By standing with teachers and firefighters and cops, Ohio has sent a loud and clear message that will be heard all across the country: the middle class will no longer be trampled on,” Biden said.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the vote sends a clear message to the rest of the country.

“Those who would dare try to strip collective bargaining rights away from hard-working citizens will now think twice,” Weingarten said in a statement. “Ohio voters made it clear to them that there is a price to pay for turning your back on the middle class.”

Appeals Court Upholds Health Care Mandate

By Andrea Salazar

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today delivered a victory to President Obama and other supporters of the Affordable Care Act.

In a split opinion, the panel ruled that the federal government has the authority to require all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, even if it encroaches on individual liberties.

“The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems,” Judge Laurence Silberman wrote.

The American Center for Law and Justice brought the case, arguing that the mandate violates individual and religious freedom by forcing a people to purchase insurance.

The Supreme Court will likely rule on the law next year.

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Upset At Reach Of New Offshore Drilling Plan

By Mike Hothi

President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy Karen Harbert expressed disappointment with the Obama administration’s announcement that the newest installation of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Leasing Program neglects the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

“Today the administration’s proposed leasing plan rejected the opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in this country by taking yet another step to constrain options for increased domestic energy production,” Harbert said in a statement.

Harbert believes the proposal does not provide much hope for oil and natural gas production on federal lands.

“We are disappointed that the administration is once again forgoing an opportunity to make our energy future more secure and our economy more competitive.”

The President’s proposal would provide offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska but Halbert argued that, by neglecting new exploration and development on the Atlantic or Pacific coastlines, the proposal does not go far enough to create jobs for the country.