It sounds surprising at first, but Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman and an advisor to the Jeb Bush campaign, is a strong supporter of changing the rule to open up the presidential debates to include an independent candidate in the fall of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4lsOb-j3o0

Ellis Island's 1900s Immigration Processing Center opened the gates for many new immigrants who were seeking a new life in the United States. As the melting pot of the world, it is obvious that we have various layers of immigrant cultures from all over the world. Some people assimilate and others hold on to a piece of their homeland's pride and cultural customs.

“You didn’t see the other sign that they have? ‘We don’t like big government… until we like big government.'” - Rand Paul, May 26, 2015

U.S.

On Wednesday, Nebraska shocked the nation by being the first Republican-dominated state to abolish the death penalty in 40 years. The unicameral Legislature, unique in the United States, voted to override Governor Pete Ricketts' (R) veto 30-to-19.

The vote highlights a growing trend across the country -- Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground on criminal justice issues. Whether it is on Capitol Hill or in state legislatures, members of both parties are showing rare bipartisan cooperation on these issues -- motivated, of course, by different reasons.

Vice President Joe Biden spent the day on Tuesday scrambling to smooth things over with the Iraqi government, dealing with the fallout of Ashton Carter's remarks.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, Evenwel v. Abbott. The case centers on what constitutes the principle of 'one person, one vote,' which came out of the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims decision.

Are the political reforms that Californians approved having an effect? Increasingly the answer seems to be yes.

The latest example was a special election for the vacant 7th Senate District in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. It pitted what the San Francisco Chronicle's John Diaz called "Centrist Democrat Steve Glazer over the more doctrinaire (liberal) Susan Bonilla."

U.S. senator and 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart Tuesday to discuss the PATRIOT Act, as well as other topics. Last week, Paul stood on the Senate floor for nearly 11 hours to discuss his objection to renewing controversial provisions in the PATRIOT Act, something that has set him apart from many of his Republican colleagues.

Last week, the General Assembly in North Carolina sent a bill (HB 405) to the desk of Governor Pat McCrory that is directed at thwarting undercover investigations that expose businesses' wrongdoing.

It’s the 21st century; we may not have flying cars, yet, but the technological advances we have made over the past 25 years are astonishing. Where were you 25 years ago, and did you ever think you would have everything you ever wanted to know at your fingertips? It wasn’t always easy and it wasn’t always perfect, but we have more education, communication, and entertainment than ever before.