On today's BradCast, we cover an enormous amount of news, breaking and otherwise, on both the Presidential "recount" story in three different states, as well as the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. And we speak to Green Party candidate Jill Stein's campaign manager, David Cobb, about the ongoing and "escalating" legal battles and fights for citizen oversight of election results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. [Audio link to show posted at bottom of article.]

First today, the latest on the breaking news over the weekend in the story of the denial of a permit for the controversial pipeline in ND, where thousands of native Americans have been protesting for months against its construction near tribal lands. On Sunday, in a huge victory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement to Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners that would have allowed them to complete the pipeline by building on disputed land near and beneath Lake Oahe, the Standing Rock Sioux's source of drinking water. The victory, while monumental --- even as the protests and violent attempts by law enforcement to stop them have been almost entirely ignored by mainstream corporate media --- may be short-lived, depending on legal actions and decisions made by the next President. Desi Doyen joins us for the latest.

At the same time, over the weekend, the corporate media was busy misreporting and misleading the legal maneuvers of Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein, who has dropped just one of the statewide voter-initiated suits demanding a PA "recount", in favor of a federal filing [PDF] today, on Constitutional grounds, seeking federal intervention for a statewide count and forensic analysis of 100% unverifiable voting systems used there. Stein and her attorneys held a press conference and rally today outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan, to explain the efforts.

Also, a federal judge this morning ordered [PDF] the state of Michigan to being counting ballots today, after successful maneuvers by Team Trump delayed the start of that effort late last week and had hoped to further delay or deny citizen oversight of results entirely. MI's Attorney General (a Trump supporter) falsely argued in his filing and during an unusual emergency hearing in federal court on Sunday, that the count might endanger the state's Electoral College votes. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ordered the counting to begin at noon today, however, finding that any further delay "would likely violate [plaintiffs'] right to vote under the First and Fourteenth Amendments" and that "there is a credible threat to the voters' right to have a determination made that Michigan's vote for president was properly tabulated." The MI GOP has vowed to appeal both the federal and state cases against counting ballots.

My guest today, Stein's campaign manager David Cobb, the Party's 2004 Presidential nominee --- who, himself, called for the partial statewide count that happened after that year's Presidential contest in Ohio --- joins us to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing counts and court cases in all three states, and to explain why Stein and the Green Party "are demanding integrity in the election system."

In PA, he explains (as we long have as well), that "there is no way to properly verify the DRE --- direct recording electronic --- equipment, otherwise correctly known as 'black box voting'. It's terrible to begin with and they should never be used. ... The real gain here is forensic experts getting an opportunity to get their hands on these machines --- and that is exactly what we are seeking in all three states --- but, in Pennsylvania, in federal court specifically, because of the completely outrageous system of recount provisions in the state." (To get an idea how horrific they are, check out my interview with VotePA's Marybeth Kuznik from last week, or read today's filing [PDF] in federal court.)

"I really want to underscore," he tells me, "we are escalating the fight into federal court in Pennsylvania precisely because the Pennsylvania laws are so horrible."

"These black box voting machines are hackable," he continues. "If any nefarious individual can get their hands on them, there are ways to manipulate them. That's the reason it's so important to have these forensic studies done. So that we can literally verify the vote. What is Donald Trump afraid of?"

We also discuss the efforts of the Green Party going back to Cobb's own attempted "recount" in Ohio, when two top election officials in the state's largest county, Cuyahoga (Cleveland), were found guilty and sentenced to the maximum sentence in prison for having rigged the 2004 Presidential "recount".

"We are demanding that every vote counts, so count every vote! It's just that simple. At the end of the day, if we do not have confidence in the election system, we cannot have confidence in our government itself," he argues.

Finally, speaking of counting votes (or not), North Carolina's abhorrent Republican Gov. Pat McCory has announced he is giving up his own battle for a statewide recount (which we supported) and has conceded the race to the state's Democratic candidate Attorney General Roy Cooper, becoming the first Governor to lose a re-election bid in state history...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Deadly firestorm fueled by drought and high winds engulfs Tennessee towns; Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau approves controversial tar sands pipelines, despite climate promises; California's historic drought has killed more than 100 million trees; West Coast crab fishery closed again due to another toxic algae bloom; PLUS: Washington State scientists succeed at turning CO2 emissions into stone... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): 2,000 Vets Head to Support Dakota Access Protesters, Protect From Police; Texas wind generation hits record, topping 15 GW; EPA's Late Changes To Fracking Study Downplayed Risk To Drinking Water; OPEC Reaches Deal to Limit Production, Sending Prices Soaring; Efforts to Save the Cheat River Chart Clearer Course Forward; While OPEC Gets All The Attention, The U.S. Quietly Becomes A Net Exporter Of Natural Gas; NY Sued Over Subsidies For Nuclear Plants... PLUS: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth to Be an Environmentalist... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues eviction notice to Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp; U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigating third oil refinery fire in two days; Extreme water shortages caused by drought trigger state of emergency in Bolivia; Major coral die-off along northern Great Barrier Reef; Developing nations pledge to switch to 100% renewable energy by 2050; PLUS: Federal judge rules a stable climate is a constitutional right... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): I Told The New York Times: "It's time for a whole new approach to climate journalism!"; Tennessee: Drought and high winds fuel 'apocalyptic' wildfire; Bloomberg: Cities will fight climate change, with or without Trump; Chilling climate revelations from the last ice age; White House Releases Wishful Climate Change Plan Before Trump Takes Office; Antarctica: Rift in Pine Island Glacier points to a coming, broader collapse... PLUS: A Portrait of a Man Who Knows Nothing About Climate Change... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: North Dakota police escalate tactics against Dakota Access Pipeline protesters; Canada moves to phase out coal electricity by 2030; Record low sea ice in a 'freakishly warm' Arctic; PLUS: Obama Administration cancels oil leases on Blackfeet Nation Lands... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Thanksgiving advice: How to deal with climate change denying Uncle Pete; NASA Team Claims 'Impossible' Space Engine Works-Get the Facts; World's poorest countries to aim for 100% green energy; Exxon Mobil Accuses the Rockefellers of a Climate Conspiracy; 71 Percent of Americans Support Paris Climate Deal Trump Wants To Dump; EPA Chief: Trump Can’t Halt U.S. Shift To Clean Energy; Trump’s big infrastructure plan? It’s a trap; Bleak Outlook for Trump’s Promises to Coal Miners... PLUS: It’s a pretty good time to catch up on your environmental justice reading. Here's a helpful list... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Bernie Sanders finds a potential new way to block the Dakota Access Pipeline; Republican Senate Majority Leader admits U.S. coal jobs may not be coming back; Mercury contamination in fish is declining --- thanks to pollution regulations; October 2016 was not the hottest October on record; PLUS: U.S. climate negotiators say climate action is unstoppable, even in the Age of Trump... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): China clarifies for Trump: uh, no, global warming is not a Chinese hoax; Interior Department Issues New Rule To Limit Methane From Oil and Gas; World CO2 emissions stay flat for 3rd year, helped by China falls; Plastic Polluting the Oceans Smells Like Lunch to Marine Life; Tests Show Monsanto Weed Killer in Cheerios, Other Popular Foods; Clean Water Rule: WOTUS 'Ultimately Doomed.' What Happens Next?... PLUS: Trump's Top Environmental Adviser Says Pesticides Aren't Bad for You... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: President Obama suggests re-routing the controversial Dakota Access pipeline; Some major --- and some tricky --- environment-related ballot measures; China's top climate official warns Trump about climate science denial; PLUS: Corporate media covered Clinton emails 25 times more than climate change... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): World On Track For 3C Of Warming Under Current Pledges, Warns UNEP; Oil prices slide 3 percent on record U.S. crude stock build; Global carbon intensity falls, on declining coal use; Oil patch states may have seen the last boom; Is Coal’s Political Heft Plunging? One State May Be Canary in Mine; Hurricane Matthew Took A Big Bite Out Of Southeastern States' Beaches... PLUS: Bad News for Honey as U.S. Seeks Handle on Glyphosate Residues in Food... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Massive Colonial Pipeline explosion in Alabama injures at least seven workers; Unarmed Dakota Access Pipeline protesters maced and arrested, while armed occupiers in Oregon go free; 300 million kids breathe dangerously polluted air, according to UNICEF; PLUS: It's official: largest earthquake on record in Kansas was caused by fracking industry injection well... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Exxon Concedes It May Need to Declare Lower Value for Oil in Ground; In rare move, China criticizes Trump plan to exit climate change pact; Coal doesn't help the poor; it makes them poorer; Climate Change Is Already Forcing Americans to Move; Rio's famous beaches take battering as scientists issue climate change warning... PLUS: Elon Musk Unveiled a Solar Roof and Didn’t Address Any Pressing Questions... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: More than 120 arrested at pipeline protest in North Dakota; More arrests at tar sands pipeline protest in Ottawa, Canada; Toxic gas pipeline rupture kills 1 in Nebraska; China further restricts new coal-fired power plants; PLUS: EPA waited seven months to warn Flint residents their water was contaminated with lead... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The WikiLeaks emails reveal why Hillary Clinton wouldn’t support a carbon tax; Florida Ballot Measure Could Halt Rooftop Solar, but Do Voters Know That?; NY Attorney General: “Dark Money Machine” Is Using Media To Defend Exxon’s Climate Deceit; Pennsylvania Ruling on Eminent Domain Puts Contentious Pipeline Project on Alert; Air pollution more deadly in Africa than malnutrition or dirty water, study warns; As climate change floods Florida, Marco Rubio refuses to acknowledge science... PLUS: The left vs. a carbon tax: The odd, agonizing political battle playing out in Washington state... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Al Gore and Hillary Clinton rally Millennial voters to #VoteClimate; Federal appeals court allows construction to resume at Dakota Access pipeline; North Carolina grapples with Hurricane Matthew's toxic aftermath; PLUS: Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin calls for a day of prayer - for oil... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Record Warmth Helps Shrink U.S. Carbon Emissions; Elon Musk hits back at coal baron who called him a 'fraud' over green subsidies; Upward revision of global fossil fuel methane emissions based on isotope database; Efficiency saves developed countries $540 billion a year, IEA reports; New Jersey Transit, a Cautionary Tale of Neglect; Historic Climate Agreement Will Make Air Travel Carbon Neutral By 2020; Why the difference between taxing and trading carbon matters; The biggest climate change story in the world this week is quietly playing out in Rwanda; Solar Power Is About to Hit Texas Generators Where It Hurts Most... PLUS: A Trump presidency is a clean energy nightmare... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Massive gasoline pipeline spill in Alabama; Court grants temporary reprieve for Dakota Access pipeline construction; U.N. Secretary General trying to 'Trump proof' landmark climate pact; PLUS: Leonardo DiCaprio wants you to watch over the oceans... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Los Angeles City Council backs planning for 100 percent renewable energy; Canada Will Impose Nationwide Carbon Price: Minister; Most States On Track To Meet Emissions Targets They Call Burden; Tesla Wins Massive Contract to Help Power the California Grid; Seven charts show new renewables outpacing rising demand for first time; China seen investing too much in power plants that burn coal; In Louisiana, only one Senate candidate among 8 thinks climate change a priority... PLUS: Past California Droughts Have Lasted Hundreds of Years... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: New analysis finds Dakota Access pipeline fails Obama's climate test; U.S. House Science Committee chair investigating states who are investigating Exxon Mobil; Lead paint manufacturers got legal immunity in Wisconsin after big campaign donations; PLUS: Louisiana floods now the third costliest disaster in U.S. history... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Wind, solar and electric cars are booming. Too bad that’s not enough to stop climate change; Wind, solar and electric cars are booming. Too bad that’s not enough to stop climate change; Bayer and Monsanto to merge in mega-deal that could reshape world's food supply; Reducing runoff pollution by making spray droplets less bouncy; What the sixth extinction will look like in the oceans; Obama designates the first-ever marine monument off the East Coast, in New England; New Research Documents That Sugar Industry’s Playbook Goes Way Back... PLUS: Reducing runoff pollution by making spray droplets less bouncy... and much, MUCH more! ...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Obama Administration steps in to support Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and temporarily halt Dakota Access pipeline; Why the oil industry is pushing for more pipelines; Judge rules against plan to open a million acres of public lands to fracking in California; Alabama's unfinished nuclear plant for sale, cheap; PLUS: Here we go again --- August 2016 breaks record, ties for hottest month ever recorded in human history... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Super Typhoon Meranti is about to hit Taiwan; One Year of Coal CEO Pay Could Retrain Every US Miner to Work in the Solar Industry; Wilderness lost: Earth's wild lands in catastrophic decline; With U.S. Election in Sight, Ban Seeks Quick Action on Climate Accord; Constitutional Scholars Object to Lamar Smith's Exxon Subpoenas; ittsburgh Water: Expensive, Rust-Colored, Corrosive... PLUS: This one quote shows what angry white guys mean when they talk about government overreach... and much, MUCH more! ...

On today's BradCast we try to make sense of today's whiplash of dramatic breaking news --- first from a federal judge then from three federal agencies --- concerning the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, before trying to make sense of still more breaking news concerning this November's elections. [Audio link to show posted below.]

First up: An Obama-appointed federal District Court judge in D.C. hands down his ruling [PDF] denying a preliminary injunction that would have blocked construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, as sought on Standing Rock Sioux sacred lands near their tribal reservation in North Dakota. Moments later, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Army and Interior issue a remarkable joint statement calling for a halt of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-approved construction at one federally controlled waterway and for a voluntary halt by the Dallas-based pipeline company on private lands within 20 miles.

We break down both the court's legal opinion and the federal government's encouraging directive, explaining the reasons behind both, as protests by thousands of native Americans continue to grow each day near the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers in the southern part of ND.

Then, new polls find Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump shrinking or disappearing fairly dramatically in four different key swing states. And the parties challenging the state of Texas' unlawful Photo ID voting restriction seek emergency court relief after state officials (including its indicted Attorney General) attempt to undermine a court-ordered agreement that is supposed to allow registered voters to vote, even without the strict Photo ID mandated by the illegal statute enacted by state Republicans.

In the meantime, a new study reveals, yet again, that the only type of fraud that could possibly be prevented by Photo ID laws remains virtually nonexistent in the U.S., while another major new study offers empirical historical evidence documenting how such laws drastically and disproportionately reduce minority and Democratic-leaning voter turnout.

Finally: Minnesota Democrats file suit at the state Supreme Court to have Donald Trump removed from the Presidential ballot, charging that Republicans failed to follow state law in their nomination process...

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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Major earthquake rattles Oklahoma, linked to fracking; Violent confrontation erupts at Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Dakota Access pipeline protest; Typhoons in Asia now 50 per cent stronger than in the 1970s; PLUS: President Obama in China formally signs the U.S. on to the landmark United Nations Paris Agreement... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Climate change makes major Gulf Coast deluges more likely: study; Battered Coal Companies Courted State AGs to Fight Climate Rules; Lloyd’s Fight Over Coverage for Oklahoma Earthquakes to be Heard by New York Court; The Truth Behind The Kochs’ New Fossil Fuel PR Campaign; Fish Deaths in Montana's Yellowstone River Tied to Warming Waters; Judge Blocks Central California Oil Development Over Fracking... PLUS: 13 Sperm Whales Found Dead with Stomachs Full of Plastic Trash... and much, MUCH more! ...

On today's BradCast, I'm back after the holiday weekend, but you should tune in anyway! We're live today from the KPFK/Pacifica Radio studios in Los Angeles, as I try to catch up on stuff we missed over the long weekend, and breaking news today.

Among the stories we cover on today's program...

* Tightening Presidential polls [PDF] as pollsters change their methodology to move from "registered" to "likely" voters, as Donald Trump has taken a lead or is tied with Hillary Clinton in a couple of national polls and gaining in some swing states. Nonetheless, Clinton maintains her lead in the Electoral College and even remains competitive in a number of "red" states where she is receiving support from some surprising corners.

* North Carolina's vote suppressing Republican Governor Pat McCrory believes states should have "voting rights", as opposed to people/voters.

* We're reminded today, once again, that every vote counts (or, at least, should), as Helen Purcell, the controversial election chief in Maricopa County (Phoenix), appears to have won her Republican Primary by just over a hundred votes out of more than 300,000 cast, after trailing by just a few hundred votes following last week's state primary in Arizona. The exact percentage flip (she was reportedly losing the day after the election 49.93% to 50.07% against her challenger Aaron Flannery, before defeating him 50.07% to 49.93% as of today, according to Purcell's optical-scan computers reported on Purcell's website) reminds us once again of the need to publicly hand-count paper ballots on Election Night. Purcell, Maricopa's Republican County Recorder since 1988, was roundly criticized for reducing polling locations from more than 200 in 2012 down to 60 during the Presidential Primary in March. Flannery, her challenger last week, has said he cannot afford to mount a challenge to ask for a hand count, but will consider running again in 2020. If the current results hold, Purcell will face Democrat Adrian Fontes in November.

* Then, Desi Doyen joins us for the latest on the growing protests and emergency legal battles by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota against the desecration of sacred sites with the construction of the massive, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-approved (and EPA-opposed) Dakota Access Pipeline and the bad faith actions of its supporters.

Finally, we take listener calls on all of the above! Enjoy!...

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