VIDEO: New ad ties Romney to Big Oil

Priorities USA Action this week released an ad it says reveals Mitt Romney’s ties to Big Oil companies. According to Priorities, dedicated to protecting progressive leaders against what they call “misleading attacks,” the true motivation for Big Oil’s criticism of President Obama is to elect Mitt Romney, who the group says “stands to protect Big Oil’s profits at the expense of middle class Americans.”

Personhood gaining steam in Oklahoma

State lawmakers in Oklahoma this week took up a piece of legislation that would grant “personhood” status to human embryos. The measure, which was passed by the state Senate, advanced through the House Public Health Committee, despite warnings that it could endanger the lives of women.

As GOP continues attacks on EPA, Jackson presents budget to Senate

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson this morning told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that a high percentage of EPA’s budget goes directly to states and tribes to ensure high air and water quality throughout the country.

Santorum signs symbolic personhood petition

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum has furthered his commitment to the pro-life cause, signing a draft version of the Oklahoma Personhood Amendment petition. The ‘fetal personhood’ movement has swept the country in recent months and aims to outlaw abortion by defining life as beginning at the moment of conception.

Romney takes Florida

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has won the Florida GOP primary. The victory was unsurprising, as Romney had been leading in the majority of polls leading up to today’s vote.

Enviros not happy with Obama pledge to increase offshore drilling

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last week that it will begin selling leases to allow offshore oil drilling in 38 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico. Environmental groups say the move is troubling, as regulatory oversight and environmental problems related to the catastrophic 2010 gulf oil spill haven’t yet been fully remedied.

Abortion rights, Planned Parenthood attacked at GOP presidential forum

Lowe’s deluged by petitions in wake of decision to pull ads from TV show

Petitions containing more than 200,000 signatures were delivered to Lowe’s corporate headquarters Tuesday, protesting the company’s recent decision to pull its ads from the TLC reality series All-American Muslim.

In wake of BP spill, off-shore drilling still not safe

A new report issued by The National Academy of Engineering, a government-created nonprofit, concludes that the lack of regulation and ineffective safety-management practices that led to BP’s catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have not been fully remedied — leaving communities in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana potentially vulnerable to another oil spill.

Florida moves to charge companies who bottle state’s water

In Florida, Democratic State Rep. Franklin Sands has filed a bill to “collect a modest fee from bottled water companies that derive extravagant profits for the privilege of pumping millions of gallons of water daily from Florida’s springs and other water bodies.” Sands’ filing of House Bill 781 comes after public criticism over water bottling giants’ current ability to extract — without charge — water for commercial purposes.