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September 8, 2016

The Obama administration has offered to sell $115bn worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia over its eight years in office, more than any previous US administration, according to a new report.

The surge in sales is in part to reassure the Saudi monarchy of US backing in the wake of last year’s nuclear deal with Tehran, which raised fears in the Gulf that Washington would tilt more towards Tehran in its foreign policy.


September 8, 2016

The pressure on the Obama administration to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is mounting.

Senators from both sides of the aisle introduced a joint resolution on Thursday, hoping to block a large U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

S.J.Res 39 was introduced by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah). Explaining their motivation, all four cited the atrocities committed by the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.


September 8, 2016

The years-long tussle over land use at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ sprawling 388-acre West Los Angeles campus took an important step closer to being resolved Tuesday. Yet even as the department made real strides locally, the efforts to deliver more services to veterans on the campus remain hampered by inaction in Congress.


September 7, 2016

A bipartisan push against a $1.15 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia is gaining steam in protest of Riyadh’s bombing campaign in Yemen — but remains split on whether to oppose the sale or block it outright.

Multiple congressional aides tell Foreign Policy that Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut are preparing legislation, to be filed this week, opposing the U.S. package of tanks, ammunition, and machine guns to Saudi Arabia.


September 7, 2016

Last fall, ExxonMobil executives hurried along the hushed, art-filled halls of the company’s Irving, Texas, headquarters, a 178-acre suburban complex some employees facetiously call “the Death Star,” to a series of emergency strategy meetings. The world’s largest oil explorer by market value had been hit by a pair of multipart investigations by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times. Both reported that as early as the 1970s, the company understood more about climate change than it had let on and had deliberately misled the public about it.


September 7, 2016

More than 60 lawmakers in the House are fighting to delay the Obama administration's planned sale of $1.15 billion in arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, citing the growing number of civilian casualties in Yemen caused by the Saudi-led military coalition.

In a longshot bid to stall the sale, the bipartisan group of 64 House members, led by California Rep. Ted Lieu, has called on the White House to withdraw the request for congressional approval for the sale until Congress can fully debate American military support for the Saudis.


September 2, 2016

A Los Angeles congressman is calling for Japanese prosecutors to investigate Olympus Corp. for not warning American hospitals that its medical scope was transferring lethal bacteria to patients.

In an Aug. 29 letter, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) asked Secretary of State John Kerry to request that Japanese authorities probe the Tokyo-based manufacturer for civil or criminal misconduct.


September 1, 2016

A bipartisan group of 60 lawmakers has signed a letter seeking to delay the Obama administration’s planned sale of $1.

15 billion in arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, citing the growing number of civilian casualties in Yemen caused by the Saudi-led military coalition's airstrikes.

The letter, addressed to President Barack Obama, cites the growing number of civilian casualties in Yemen caused by the Saudi-led military coalition and the Obama administration’s failure to rein in its Arab ally.


September 1, 2016

Citing humanitarian concerns regarding Saudi Arabia's ongoing war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. lawmakers on Monday asked the White House to delay a proposed $1.15 billion weapons sale to the kingdom.

The letter, signed by 64 members of Congress, asks the Obama administration to walk back the Aug. 8 approval of the sale, which would include replacing tanks destroyed in the Yemen campaign.

"This military campaign has had a deeply troubling impact on civilians," the letter from Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., states.


September 1, 2016

It’s been exactly 500 days since traffic was allowed on the California Incline. But hey, who’s counting?

The iconic piece of Santa Monica infrastructure, which connects Pacific Coast Highway to Ocean Avenue on the bluffs above it, reopens today after an approximately 18 month closure for major reconstruction.

The widened incline is now up to seismic standards, according to City officials, and will open to vehicle traffic at 5 p.m. The new bridge also features designated paths for cyclists and pedestrians, who will be able to access it starting at 10 a.m.

Issues: Local Issues