READING FOR THE WEEK (June 1, 2016)

On this date in 1926 Marilyn Monroe (aka Norma Jean) was born. 

The untold story behind Saudi Arabia's 41-year U.S. debt secret (Bloomberg).

Dying GOP senator apologizes to Muslims for Donald Trump (The Daily Beast).

Michigan pastor who railed against same-sex marriage resigns after being caught seeking men on Grindr (Raw Story).

9 things many Americans just don't grasp (Alternet).


POLITICS IN AMERICA
Is this the worst Congress ever (The Atlantic)?

The secret history of Super Delegates (In These Times).

Candidates who backed the Oregon militia overwhelmingly voted out (Rolling Stone).

House erupts in chaos after LGBT vote (Politico).


THE MAKING OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Forget Sykes-Picot. It's the Treaty of Sevres that explains the modern Middle East (Foreign Policy)

The secret pact that became a scapegoat for all of the Middle East's problems (Houston Chronicle).


VENEZUELA
Venezuela is falling apart (The Atlantic).

There has never been a country that should have been so rich but ended up this poor (Washington Post).


CALIFORNIA NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
California outpacing U.S. on job growth, unemployment falls to 5.3% (LA Times).

California received $3.2 billion in taxes from those in the country illegally (KPBS).


THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
Germany had so much renewable energy on Sunday that it had to pay people to use electricity (Quartz).

Portugal runs for four days straight on renewable energy alone (The Guardian).

This could explain one of the biggest mysteries of cheap oil (Huffington Post).


DONALD TRUMP
Pieper and Henderson: 10 reasons you can't be a Christian and vote for Donald Trump (Dallas Morning News).

These Ellis Island documents reveal a surprising truth about Donald Trump's immigrant mother (Fusion).

Donald Trump humiliates himself by getting the Constitution wrong on Meet the Press (Politics USA).

What's the 'most dangerous place on earth'? Donald Trump says it could be Oakland or Ferguson, Mo. He's wrong (Miami Herald).


TRUMP'S AMERICA ... COMING SOON
White high school football players in Idaho charged with sexually assaulting black, disabled teammate with a coat hanger (Washington Post).

'Get off the stage!' crowd yells at commencement speaker after she uses Spanish, mentions Trump (Washington Post).


KERN COUNTY IN THE NEWS
'That is unbelievable': Bernie Sanders shocked by [Arvin] California's water woes, compares crisis to Flint's (Alternet).

Court papers, attorney hint at widespread Bakersfield police corruption (Kern Golden Empire).

Second former BPD detective accepts plea (Bakersfield Californian).


MISCELLANEOUS
15 things Americans would know if there were a 'liberal media' (Alternet).

Major study finds the U.S. is an oligarchy (Business Insider).

This cartoon explains how the rich got rich and the poor got poor (Vox).

Fracking's total environmental impact is staggering, report finds (Think Progress).

- Mark