Capitol Watch: Lawmakers Are Connecting With Constituents

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Early into his new book, The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos, ecologist Mark Easter poses a playful, but loaded, question: “How could a morning piece of toast or a plate of dinner pasta be such a world-altering culprit?” This, like many ideas Easter digs into in his illuminating debut, is a glimpse at how the author goes about breaking down the climate toll of the US agricultural system: One dish at a time.   Seafood, salad, bread, chicken, steak, potatoes, and pie are just some of the quintessentially “American” kitchen table staples Easter structures the book around as he tries to help readers understand how greenhouse gases move into and out of soils and plants on land across the country.

The Wall Street Journal reports that lefties are the surprise new gun owners in the U. S.

Crime rates are on the ballot in November.

Donald Trump plans on addressing the disastrous scandal engulfing North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson “in passing," as he campaigns in the Tar Heel state this weekend. The New York Times reports that, while the Trump campaign is still hoping Robinson will withdraw from the race, aides believe Trump “will deliver a version of a comment he has made about countless supporters or former aides: that he hardly knows the guy." Quite the stretch for Trump, who told a rally in North Carolina back in March that Robinson was "Martin Luther King on steroids," and "better than Martin Luther King," and “Martin Luther King times two.” read more

“Donald Trump returned to the key battleground state of North Carolina for a rally Saturday, but declined to mention Mark Robinson — his party’s nominee for governor in the state,” ABC News reports.

“Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend next month’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York City, her campaign has told organizers, opting instead to stump in a battleground state on October 17, less than three weeks before the election,” CNN reports. “The historic Catholic fundraiser traditionally features light roasts by the two major-party nominees – aimed at one another and others – in presidential election years…” “Donald Trump stunned attendees in 2016 when he abandoned the collegial banter and launched a series of personal attacks on Hillary Clinton, who in her own remarks had offered the expected round of self-deprecating humor.”