Catalonia just legalised weed

The government of Catalonia has legalised marijuana, making the autonomous Spanish region the latest part of the world to loosen restrictions on use of the drug. The cultivation, consumption and distribution of cannabis will be permitted for members of designated clubs after the region's parliament voted to regulate them.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/catalonia-marijuana-legalise-cannabis-consumption-distribution-spain-region-petition-a7816981.html?source=Snapzu

GOP bill would let churches endorse political candidates

Churches should have the right to endorse political candidates and still keep their tax-free status, say House Republicans targeting a law that prohibits such outright politicking from the pulpit. Republicans repeatedly have failed to scrap the law preventing churches and other nonprofits from backing candidates, so now they are trying to starve it. With little fanfare, a House Appropriations subcommittee added a provision that would deny money to the IRS to enforce the 63-year-old law to a bill to fund the Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies.
Read more: https://www.apnews.com/59b82e28bca64912990664fdd898c888/GOP-bill-would-let-churches-endorse-political-candidates?source=Snapzu

Bundestag passes law to fine social media companies for not deleting hate speech

German lawmakers have approved a controversial law that would impose high fines on social media companies like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube for failing to swiftly delete posts deemed to exhibit hate speech.
Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/bundestag-passes-law-to-fine-social-media-companies-for-not-deleting-hate-speech/a-39486694?source=Snapzu

Wells of Despair: The Desperation for Water

An unregulated borewell economy thrives through the dry summers in Osmanabad district of Marathwada, with agents and rig owners cashing in on the desperation of farmers to find water at any depth, any cost. By Parth M.N.
Read more: https://thewire.in/149932/wells-of-despair-desperation-water/?source=Snapzu

Trump’s Latest Election Commission Pick Is A Huge Believer In Voter Fraud Conspiracy

Critics say his appointment sends an unmistakable sign about the direction of the investigation. By Sam Levine. [Autoplay]
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hans-von-spakovsky-voter-fraud_us_59566b20e4b05c37bb7de798?source=Snapzu

Trump called 'threat to every coastline' as he pushes ocean drilling plan

Environmentalists have condemned Donald Trump as a “threat to every ocean and coastline in the country”, after the president pushed forward plans to expand oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans as part of what he called a new era of “American energy dominance”. The Trump administration has taken the first steps to rewrite a five-year plan, put in place under Barack Obama, that banned drilling along the Atlantic seaboard and in large swaths of the Arctic.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/30/donald-trump-environment-ocean-drilling-atlantic-arctic?source=Snapzu

Are Illinois taxpayers finally waking up?

Illinois can no longer afford to tax itself out of fiscal holes. By Kristen McQueary.
Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-taxpayers-illinois-chicago-cps-mcqueary-perspec-0630-md-20170629-story.html?source=Snapzu