PROFILE
FROM Mike Konczal
It's been a busy year Three stories from the year's news that need a little more attention and context from experts and the Left, Right & Center panel.
Where are the Republicans going? Why are anti-Trump Republicans quitting instead of fighting?
The Federal Budget: What's Important and What's Not? The federal budget is all about priorities, and President Obama says economic inequality is the defining issue for America's next generation. He wants to escalate the War on Poverty by closing tax loopholes. Republicans call that a tax increase that makes poverty worse and rewards refusal to work. Beyond that, the budget's a chance to debate everything from Pentagon spending to how much to pay for the habitats of honeybees. As arguments over the 2015 budget sets the stage for this year's elections, will the parties manage to unify or reveal their internal divisions?
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A Santa Barbara doctor learns to treat his own pain At the peak of his career as a palliative care doctor in Santa Barbara, Michael Kearney found himself burned out and in a state of personal suffering. Even though he had become an expert in treating the pain of others, he couldn’t treat his own. That changed when he had a revelatory experience that provided him with a path forward. Meanwhile, the November election is just days away, a look at what could happen to the Central Coast if California voters pass Proposition 10.
Following three tragedies: two fires and a mass shooting in Ventura On the heels of a deadly mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, two blazes in the area are forcing more than 100,000 residents in Ventura and L.A. Counties to evacuate their homes.