Bill Binny, Thomas Drake, and Edward Snowden, along with

Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed raising the state's minimum wage on Wednesday during his 2015 State of the State address.

President Barack Obama addressed an array of foreign policy issues in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, including the ISIL threat, a resurgent Russia, and his policy changes toward Cuba. However, in a sprawling speech to lay out his policy agenda for the next two years, he also did not address some of the most pressing issues of the past year. Here are some of the most striking ones about the U.S.’s role on the international scene.

Newly-elected U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) gave a rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday that sounded more like a primary campaign video than an attempt to refute the president's agenda and platform for the coming year.

Ernst could have taken the time to address any number of the president's ideas, including education, foreign policy on Iran, equal pay for women, new child tax credits, or Obamacare success stories. Instead, this is how she opened her "rebuttal":

Barack Obama delivered a State of the Union address that mainly focused on domestic affairs from free community college education to touting the health care law. When the president did delve into national security, foreign policy, and privacy, he left more questions than answers.

Remember the Solyndra, Fast and Furious, IRS, NSA, and VA scandals? The point is that there is a lot to work through before something gets accomplished and that requires the president and Congress to work together. However, the national debt is something the wind has yet to blow away.

Balsam, et al. v. Guadagno is set for March 17, 2015, before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue in the case is whether the fundamental right to vote applies to the primary stage of the public election process.

Barack Obama will deliver his sixth State of the Union on Tuesday, January 20, and has made this article a great deal easier to write by laying out his plan in advance – covering such issues as higher education, cyber security, and trade.

Kris Kobach has submitted two new election reforms to the Kansas Legislature that are a direct response to the 2014 U.S. Senate race, where Republican incumbent Pat Roberts was almost defeated by independent Greg Orman. Public polling before the midterm elections suggest that all the statewide incumbents, including Kobach, were vulnerable -- something Kobach wants to remedy with new rules for candidate withdrawals and reinstating straight-ticket voting.

YouTube message sent out to supporters. Even her good friend, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), expressed her shock and emotion over the announcement when she found out during a press conference.