Reaction to the death of former Vice President Walter Mondale, who died Monday in Minneapolis at age 93: 'Today I mourn the passing of my dear friend Walter Mondale, who I consider the best vice president in our country's history. During our administration, Fritz used his political skill and personal integrity to transform the vice presidency into a dynamic, policy-driving force that had never been seen before and still exists today. He was an invaluable partner and an able servant of the people of Minnesota, the United States, and the world.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/walter-mondale-remembered_n_607e564ce4b017abd719b98e

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The GOP, which likes to tout itself as the 'law and order party,' in reality 'coddles criminals' like Donald Trump's former White House strategist Steve Bannon, accused a searing editorial Saturday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.A 'shameful roster' of Republican House members overwhelmingly voted against holding Bannon in criminal contempt after he brazenly ignored a subpoena to testify as part of the investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, the newspaper noted. The Republicans are 'once again running interference for a lawless ex-president who tried to overthrow a valid election,' the editorial added.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-coddle-criminals-steve-bannon-st-louis-post-dispatch-editorial_n_617496a4e4b06573573c36dc

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) claimed that animosity against former President Donald Trump is hindering studies of ivermectin — a drug approved to treat some parasitic worms and often administered to livestock — and its supposed potential to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans. 'The hatred for Trump deranged these people so much, that they're unwilling to objectively study it,' Paul said Friday during a town hall in Cold Spring, Kentucky, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the first outlet to report Paul's remarks.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rand-paul-trump-ivermectin_n_612cf529e4b06e5d80d00db6

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Cleanup crews and environmental authorities are racing to contain the devastation linked to a large oil spill off the Southern California coastline as new concerns emerge over how the leak was handled in the critical hours after oil started spewing from a damaged pipeline. The leak was first reported on Saturday off the coast of Orange County's Huntington Beach by Amplify Energy, a Houston company that owns the pipeline. About 126,000 gallons of crude oil is estimated to have spilled from the 17-mile-long structure, which carries fuel from offshore platforms to land from about five miles off Newport Beach.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/california-oil-spill-timeline-huntington-beach_n_615b9b43e4b075408bdad039

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It may finally cost something for employers to illegally break unions.Congressional Democrats and the White House on Thursday reached a tentative deal on a trimmed-down yet still historic $1.75 trillion spending package that would broaden the social safety net and address climate change. Although it's still subject to changes, the current version of the Build Back Better framework includes a potentially landmark reform to labor law: monetary penalties for union busting.The latest iteration of the bill released by House and Senate leaders Thursday would fine employers up to $50,000 for each 'unfair labor practice,' and up to $100,000 in cases where a worker was illegally fired.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-fines-union-busting_n_617c3e56e4b03072d704467e

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The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was passed in 1970 as a way to combat organized crime. Similar state laws, like New York's 'little RICO,' carry stiff penalties, including prison. They can be used against businesses proven to have repeatedly engaged in criminal activity to maximize income. Jeffrey Robbins, a white-collar attorney and former federal prosecutor, told Business Insider that it wouldn't 'surprise' him 'in the slightest that, among other things, prosecutors are looking at whether there's a basis to charge the [Trump] organization with racketeering.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/little-rico-mob-law-trump-organization-cy-vance-investigation_n_60b2f488e4b01de8b7839a05

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Texas land commissioner George P. Bush was mocked on social media this week for desperately trying to link himself to former President Donald Trump, who has attacked much of Bush’s famous family. “Like President Trump, I will not sit idly by while our freedoms are under attack,� Bush said in a video announcing his bid for Texas attorney general.  Bush’s primary challenger is fellow Republican Ken Paxton, the current attorney general who is also a loyal Trump supporter, and it seems both are competing for the former president’s endorsement.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-p-bush-donald-trump_n_60b9b30ae4b02df1ad896e7c

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Not everybody who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 deserves criminal punishment, according to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 'If an individual assaulted a police officer, they should spend a long, long time in jail,' Cruz told HuffPost.  'If, on the other hand, the Biden administration is targeting and persecuting people for exercising political speech that is nonviolent and simply expressing their peaceful support for a political party different from that in power, that is not the purpose of our criminal justice system,' he added.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-capitol-riot-defendants_n_6115330ae4b0454ed70b0648

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BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands protested in Switzerland on Saturday for the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Alpine country. The protests came ahead of a national referendum on Sept. 26 on the legalization of gay marriage, which has already been introduced in many other European countries including Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands. Public broadcaster SRF reported that tens of thousands participated in the Zurich Pride parade which had the slogan 'You can do it. Marriage for everyone now.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tens-of-thousands-protest-for-gay-marriage-in-switzerland_n_6133d3cee4b0eab0ad99908c

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