Cut Down in Troops

Obama is planning to have 9,800 U.S troops in Afghanistan after the U.S ends its combat mission this year. He's cutting the number by almost half by the end of 2015. By the end of 2016 the U.S will draw down to "a normal embassy presence with a security office in Kabul as they have done in Iraq. On January 2015 the troop levels will be on track for what the Pentagon has requested in the last few months. It said that the presence of 10,000 troops is necessary for protection training, counterterrorism and intelligence gathering. The drawdown schedule would bring U.S troop levels down to below 5,000 by the end of 2015 which is what many people in the Pentagon favored. There has been criticism of how Obama has dealt with the situation in Syria, Ukraine, and anywhere else. By cutting down the number of troops in Afghanistan will serve to get the people's attention on a country that is already stable.

http://www.latimes.com/world/afghanistan-pakistan/la-fg-obama-afghanistan-troops-20140527-story.html#

Mississippi, home to federal government's official stash of marijuana

On the campus of the University of Mississippi marijuana is grown, processed and sold by the federal government. The stockpiles that have represent the only pot source that can be used for research. However, researchers can't get it without the approval of the Drug Enforcement Administration Administration to say it's okay. The pot can only be used for medical purposes. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is also represented and must sign of too. Some researchers complain that getting the approval is unreasonably and tough for the scientists that are trying to find beneficial purposes of the uses of the drug. Under the federal law this drug is classified as a more dangerous substance than cocaine that has no medical use. The DEA guards the stockpile as if it were plutonium. Scientists had noticed that they have to find a way to get around and get an approval. However, he doesn't dare to bend the rules because he depends on the DEA. In 2007, a DEA administrative law judge ruled that the University of Mass. should also be able to grow their own pot, but top officials didn't agree. The farm on this university remains a source of great interest.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pot-monopoly-20140529-story.html#page=1

Immigration Delay

On Wednesday the White House's surprise decision to delay a review of deportations has once again revived the immigration debate. The focus has shifted from President Obama who has increasingly come under fire from immigration law advocates as the "deporter in chief" and throwing the issue back to the House Republicans. It said that by delaying a planned Department of Homeland Security review of deportation until August of this year it gives the House an opportunity to pass a reform bill before the midterm election. Secretary Jay Carney said that they wouldn't want the review to create a reason or an excuse not pass or act. The Republican leaders were fine with Obama's overture. John A Boehner, House Speaker of Ohio, said that this delay shouldn't be viewed as a "concession"to Republicans, but instead as Obama's responsibility to uphold existing laws. House Republicans don't want to pass any immigration laws because they don't trust Obama to enforce the ones already existing. This leads Obama to take executive actions. At the end either House Republicans will serve up immigration legislation by August or Obama will argue he had little choice, but to act o his own Democrats portray the GOP as unsympathetic to immigration communities.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-immigration-delay-20140529-story.html#page=1

Incumbent Loses Runoff

The oldest congressmen has become the first incumbent to lose a primary election in 2014. Former U.S Attorney John Ratcliffe edged 17-incumbent Rep. Ralph M. Hall in a Republican runoff in Texas. This year many veteran lawmakers have been leaving on their own however, Hall was hoping to serve one final term. He wanted to represent voters in northeastern Texas, but with the combination of his age and a motivated core of tea party voters in the low-turnout race has proven to make it difficult to overcome. His defeat will leave the New Congress next year without a World Was 2 veteran since Rep. John D. Dingell will be retiring. The reason that he was defeated was because of three reasons. One was his age, the second was the fact that he was a former democrat, and three his longevity in Congress. It was said that Washington needed a new face in Congress. Plus he had previously failed to get a win when he led the GOP in the initial March 4 primary. The main factor that people were talking about was his age. On Tuesday Ratcliffe got 21,539 voted while Hall got 19,000. His victory marked the first triumph for outside conservative groups over incumbent Republican lawmakers this year.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-texas-primary-runoff-20140527-story.html

Official Identified by White House

The White House has accidentally identified the CIA's top official in Kabul. This was done in an email that has circulated thousands of journalists. The White House has deny to say anything and all the media outlets did not release the official's name for his and his family's protection. The email consisted of a list of names that would go with Obama on his trip to Afghanistan. He was going on this memorial day weekend to thank the soldiers for their service. The official was identified by "chief of station" which is the job title of the CIA's top official in a foreign country. All foreign operations are usually kept a secret. This s not the first time this has happened in 2003 the same thing occurred.

  http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-white-house-cia-name-afghanistan-20140526-story.html 

Arkansas Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

On Friday the Arkansas Supreme Court without any explanation stopped the issuance of marriage license to same-sex couples by granting a request to stay lower court ruling that had invalidated all laws banning gay marriage. There have been millions of gays and lesbians that have gotten married already. Judge Chris Piazza ruled that the ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. With this said he left 75 county clerks confused, leaving some with the will of issuing marriage license to same-sex couples, however others refused to do so. Now that Arkansas is off the table only 17 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said he will defend the desire of voters who established the same-sex marriage ban in the state constitution despite his own personal belief that marriage occurs between a man and a woman. The courts have issued a stay however, people didn't like this because it would take the lgbt community a longer time to gain the same rights as opposite-sex couples. To this day it's still unclear what Arkansas will decide.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-arkansas-gay-marriage-stay-20140516-story.html

Alley Clean Up

Meredith Watts has been calling the city's Bureau of Sanitation to clear up the alley of her home where she once lived. If she doesn't call the people don't come to clean up. She says she remembers being able to play in the alley when she was a kid. But now all the alleys are piled up with trash and not sanitary. Now there is a plan to spend more money to try to clean the alleys up. Mayor Eric Garcettie proposed to spend $5 million to try to straighten the alleys up. However, people believe that this amount of money won't be enough to do so. So Los Angeles lawmakers want a systematic citywide solution to help do the work. The City Council on Wednesday set up crews that will go clean up the places that are in the most need. They alleys before used to be cleaned up by the Bureau of Street Servies, but money was eliminated for them. The estimated amount to clean most of the trash is between $25-$30 million, however, money is still tight so they plan to only use a small portion of this.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-alley-cleaning-20140501,0,1247352.story#axzz30aQIafGs