Friday Morning Scoop: I Am Woman, Running for Office

A Record Number of Women Have Filed to Run for the House of Representatives 

Tiffany Shedd is running for Congress in a rural Arizona district (Image: sheddforcongress.com)

A record-shattering 309 women have officially filed to run for House of Representative seats in November, a number that is expected to go even higher. Observers cited the 2017 Women’s March and growing anger over President Trump’s policies as key factors behind the surge. The majority of new candidates are running as Democrats.

The Associated Press studied data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and analyzed data released by states in breaking the news yesterday.

The U.S. population is more than half female, but four out of every five members of the House are male. Most women face uphill battles against incumbents or well-funded opposition.

The AP also noted that “Forty women are running so far in governors’ races, a total that already surpassed the previous record of 34 in 1994. And 29 women are on ballots for U.S. Senate races, a number that will grow as filing deadlines approach in more states. The record number of female Senate candidates is 40, set in 2016.”

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EPA Employees Were Punished for Questioning Scott Pruitt

At least five Environmental Protection Agency officials were reassigned, demoted or requested new jobs in the past year after they expressed concerns over the agency administrator Scott Pruitt’s spending and management.

The New York Times reports, “The concerns included unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr. Pruitt for security coverage, such as requests for a bulletproof vehicle and an expanded 20-person protective detail, according to people who worked for or with the E.P.A. and have direct knowledge of the situation.”

Pruitt was unhappy by the complaints by the four career E.P.A. employees and one Trump administration political appointee, but reportedly still has the support of the president.

Today in a Tweet 

Cardi B’s debut album is finally out and she’ll be on ‘SNL’ Saturday…

One in 10 California State College Students Say They’ve Been Homeless

A report in the LA Daily News details surveys of California college students that found one in 10 who attended state schools reported having been homeless at some point during their studies. The situation was worse for community college students: one in five said they had no place to live at some point.

The situation has forced some colleges to offer social services, giving students emergency grants for rent, holding dorm beds for homeless students and tripling occupancy in residential housing. CMN reported earlier this week that hunger is also a growing problem on campus.

The report offers this sobering fact: “colleges have started food pantries and meal-sharing programs, signed up students for food stamps and created apps to notify them about leftover catering food.”

Last But Not Least: Trader Joe’s Shopper Finds a Dead Lizard in Her Bag of Kale

This might have been a little too organic, TJ.

Grace Goldstein came home with an undesirable surprise in her grocery bag after going to Trader Joe’s earlier this week.

Goldstein was shocked and confused when she first noticed a dead lizard in her bag of kale while unloading her groceries. Unsure whether to bring the bag back to the store, she put it in her freezer to preserve the lizard.

Gigi Foster has all the icky details in her report for CMN.

This pre-weekend Morning Scoop was compiled by Natalia Kolenko, Gigi Foster, and the CMN Staff. Friday, how come you’re so perfect?