Latest News and Politics from the U.S. - Huffington Post (April 2011 Diet)

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WASHINGTON -- State lawmakers in Illinois and California are pushing to cut their states' ties to an immigration enforcement program that they say was unfairly imposed on local governments against their wishes.The program, Secure Communities, is touted as a key component of the Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement strategy and has helped DHS set records for deportations and removals. The Obama administration plans to expand the program nationwide by 2013.More...

Source: State Lawmakers Push Back Against Immigration Enforcement Program

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Matt and Kelly Grocoff just received the March/April utility bill for their 110-year-old Folk-Victorian home in Ann Arbor, Michigan's Old West Side Historic District. It was -$68.44 -- and yes, that's a minus sign before the dollar sign. Matt and Kelly's home -- America's oldest net-zero energy restoration and Michigan's first net-zero house -- has been retrofitted so that it produces more energy than it consumes.Matt and Kelly use less than 10,000 kilowatt hours of total energy per year. Their 8.1 kW SunPower solar panels (which cost them $19,000 -- less than an SUV -- after a tax credit and utility incentive) supply that and more -- enough to earn them money back from the local utility.  In addition to eliminating their energy bill, Kelly and Matt expect to earn an additional $1,100 per year by selling renewable energy credits back to the utility company.More...

Source: Historic Home Produces More Energy Than it Consumes

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Joel McHale is a busy man. Aside from his current leading role on NBC's genre-hopping Thursday night comedy, "Community," he continues to host E!'s biting pop culture wrap-up, "The Soup," every single week.He also performs stand-up comedy on the road, leaving LA most weekends to do shows in various cities nationwide.More...

Source: Joel McHale, 'Community' Star, On His Hectic Schedule And The Season Finale

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Undercover investigations by the Humane Society, Mercy for Animals and other groups have exposed systemic animal cruelty at factory farms. The video footage has led to criminal convictions in Iowa, voter referendums in Florida, and consumer outrage at the most egregious animal welfare abuses.Rather than put an end to these practices, though, corporations and agriculture industry groups have hit back with another plan: criminalize anyone who exposes their wrongdoing.More...

Source: What Is Big Ag Trying to Hide?

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Happy Earth Day, that special time of year when you're reminded that it's Earth Day.  Susan Collins won't support Paul Ryan's panacea budget, even though it invents a KFC Doubledown that is heart-healthy. Another left-leaning official is departing the White House, fueling rumors that President Obama will ditch Joe Biden and choose a Third Way policy paper on entitlement reform as his 2012 running mate. And come May 3, John Ensign will be just another schlub who doesn't have access to the "Senators Only" elevator ...  who is under investigation by the Ethics Committee. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, April 22nd, 2011:This is why you didn't get HuffPost Hill in your inbox yesterdayMore...

Source: HUFFPOST HILL - Ensign Investigation Won't End

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What better time than Earth Day to focus on individual actions we can take today to ensure a cleaner, more livable tomorrow?Here are five things you and your neighbors can do to celebrate the planet and put some energy cost savings back into your local economy.More...

Source: On Earth Day, Tell Congress to Be Green -- and Save Green

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Photographer Dawn Tejaz Diaz, who lives in the Philipines, took this amazing photograph in a park after a rain storm, on March 7, 2011. (The photo appeared first on Blipfoto.com).More...

Source: The World in a Raindrop -- An Amazing Photo to Celebrate Earth Day

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There's an interesting post by Taffy Brodesser-Akner over on Salon.com, called "I can't believe my best friend is a Republican."Great title.More...

Source: How Politically Diverse Are Your Friends?

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Hey, there are a lot of students attending college on the new GI Bill, and they're working together for mutual benefit. I think I'll shut up and let them speak for themselves.Student Veterans of America (SVA) is a coalition of student veterans groups on college campuses across the United States. Our mission is to provide military veterans with the resources, support, and advocacy needed to succeed in higher education and following graduation. We envision all veterans succeeding in higher education, achieving their academic goals, and gaining meaningful employment.More...

Source: Student Veterans of America (SVA)

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How many days into Passover do you get tired of the same old same old? Matzoh smeared with jelly, canned coconut macaroons and packaged sponge cake? These are the holiday foods of my youth and I wonder if, over all of these years, anything has changed. For several years when we lived outside of Créteil, the Parisian suburb that boasts a huge, thriving Jewish community, I would take the bus over to the neighborhood around the synagogue and stock up on kosher for Passover treats at the tiny épicerie and at the supermarket where an extra space was opened up once a year just to stock with Passover foods. I would carry my prizes home, the cookies and cakes, candy and chocolate-covered matzoh, and fill the cabinets clean of their Hametz, any and all foods not allowed on this holiday.More...

Source: Homemade Passover Macaroons & Berry Macaroon Crumble