EPA Deep-Stater vs. Trump
Wall Street Journal
Columnist Kimberly A. Strassel identifies Francesca Grifo, the Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Integrity Official, as a "deep state" opponent of the Trump agenda. Enjoying civil service protection, Grifo is handling an investigation of new EPA boss Scott Pruitt at the behest of the Sierra Club. "So now an unelected, unappointed activist could pass judgment on whether the Senate-confirmed EPA chief is too unscientific to run his own agency," Strassel writes. "So much for elections." The New Online High School Diploma Mills
Slate
Rushing to boost graduation rates, more schools are relying on online credit recovery, a form of instruction that may be selling students short. This is the first part of an eight-part series with the Columbia Journalism School exploring the rise in online learning for high school students who have failed traditional classes. Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock
The Intercept
Security firm TigerSwan applied the same anti-terror tactics it used as a military contractor to shutting down Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Internal documents show that it considered the protests part of the jihadist insurgency model and launched a large surveillance operation. High-Priced Drugs Raise Costs for Seniors in Medicare Part D
Wall Street Journal
Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, has traditionally been one of the more cost-effective arms of the Medicare program, but in recent years, spending has risen sharply, hurting the pocketbooks of seniors and other enrollees. Trump Fired Puerto Rico VA Boss, but He's Back
Daily Caller
A Department of Veterans Affairs manager who was ousted on the first day of the Trump presidency has been returned to work by VA officials. DeWayne Hamlin, director of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System, led a Puerto Rican veterans hospital that was rife with problems. With Iraqis, France Hunting the French Who Join ISIS
Wall Street Journal
French special forces have been engaging Iraqi soldiers to do their dirty work: hunting down and killing French nationals that have joined the Islamic State in an effort to stave off future terror attacks on French soil. West Virginia: The Addicts Next Door
New Yorker
In West Virginia, with the highest rate of opioid overdoses in the nation, locals are fighting a grim battle to save their towns. In Berkeley County alone, the overdose medicine Narcan was administered 403 times in 2016, nearly twice as often as in 2014. | 
