Media

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced a House resolution Tuesday that would block a $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia amid concerns that U.S. weapons are being used against civilians in Yemen.

“There is overwhelming evidence that the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen is bombing innocent civilians in Yemen,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said in a written statement. “When hospitals and schools become military targets, this is cause for serious concern, not just for our national security but also for our moral standing around the world.”

Two regulatory agencies met with Torrance residents Monday over refinery safety and emission issues as the plant was forced to flare for a second consecutive day, serving as another reminder to critics of its reliability and pollution problems.

With strong bipartisan votes of support, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have approved an agreement between UCLA and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that creates a stronger academic affiliation between the university and the VA to benefit veterans.

“The reason we’re doing this is because there is now overwhelming evidence that war crimes are being committed in Yemen, and that most of them appear to be done by Saudi Arabia-led air strikes,” Lieu told Salon in an interview on Monday.

South Bay area politicians and activists on Monday called for a ban on an acid used at the Torrance refinery, speaking just hours after residents were presented with an unplanned flareup at the facility.

Hydrofluoric acid is used in the refining of petroleum to create gasoline, but it can pose a danger to the public when not handled properly.

“Hydrofluoric acid is extremely dangerous. It is so dangerous that if released into the air, it forms a vapor cloud that travels around with the wind and kills people who come in contact with it,” Congressman Ted Lieu of Torrance said.