Poland's President Duda vetoes judicial reforms after protests

Source: BBC

Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced he is vetoing a controversial law to replace Supreme Court judges with government nominees.

Three key judicial reforms have been passed by Poland's parliament, prompting days of demonstrations across the country.

Before they became law, they required approval by the president.

The changes have also set Poland's right-wing government on a collision course with the European Union.

The European Commission had threatened to impose sanctions this week if the reforms were not scrapped. European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, had warned of a "black scenario that could ultimately lead to the marginalisation of Poland in Europe".

"As president I don't feel this law would strengthen a sense of justice," Mr Duda said in a statement broadcast on national television.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40703909#

CLIMATE CHANGE: U.K. SLAMS TRUMP FOR WALKING OUT WHEN THE HEAT IS ON

Britain’s minister in charge of environmental affairs has slammed Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying that America “can’t simply walk out of the room when the heat is on.”

Michael Gove, who heads up the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said in a speech to the wildlife charity WWF on Friday, “It is because environmental degradation is such a threat to future prosperity and security that I deeply regret President Trump’s approach toward the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”

“I sincerely hope the recent indications that the President may be minded to think again do signal a change of heart,” Gove continued. He was likely referring to comments Trump made in Paris following a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron indicating that “Something could happen” to his position on the environmental agreement.

“International co-operation to deal with climate change is critical if we’re to safeguard our planet’s future and the world’s second biggest generator of carbon emissions can’t simply walk out of the room when the heat is on,” Gove said.

“It’s our planet too, and America needs to know we can only resolve this problem together.”


More: http://www.newsweek.com/paris-agreement-donald-trump-climate-change-640102

NC governor on Trump drilling plan: 'Not off our coast'

ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. — Under pressure from President Donald Trump, North Carolina’s governor announced his opposition on Thursday to drilling for natural gas and oil off the Atlantic coast, saying it poses too much of a threat to the state’s beaches and tourism economy.

Up against a Friday deadline for comment from elected officials on the Trump administration’s request for companies to perform seismic testing under Atlantic waters, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper held a news conference at a coastal state park to announce he’ll be registering the state’s opposition.

“There is a threat looming over this coastline that we love and the prosperity it brings, and that’s the threat of offshore drilling,” Mr. Cooper said at the Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County, where he said he visited as a child and as a parent.

“As governor, I’m here to speak out and take action against it. I can sum it up in four words: ‘not off our coast.‘”


More: http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2017/07/21/NC-governor-on-Trump-drilling-plan-Not-off-our-coast-2/stories/201707210089

Stephen Colbert monologue - 7/21/2017

Stephen Colbert monologue - 7/20/17

Seth Myers - Trump Turns on Sessions Amid Russia Probe: A Closer Look - 7/20/17

The Daily Show - Uncensored - Between the Scenes - Donald Trump, the First Black President?

The Daily Show: President Trump Casually Makes Another Damning Admission - 7/20/17

Stephen Colbert Monologue - 7/19/17

Stephen Colbert: The G20 Waitstaff Know What Trump And Putin Talked About