Media

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress clearly like to talk. And talk.

But when it comes to sitting on a plane next to a passenger jabbering on the phone through a long flight, a lot of lawmakers prefer silence, so much so they are contemplating legislation to stop in-flight calling.

"The last thing I'd want is to be seated next to someone who's carrying on a five-hour conversation from L.A. to D.C.,'' said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank.), calling a plane probably the "last space in America, except underwater" where the public can avoid cellphone conversations.

An East Bay Army reservist is the Army's Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year after winning the annual Best Warrior Competition.

Manella (U.S. Army photo)Sgt. 1st Class Jason Manella, 27, who recently moved from Fremont to Hayward, competed with 23 other soldiers – representing more than 900,000 troops in 12 Army commands around the globe – in a three-day test of soldiers' physical and mental toughness in order to win the title. He's the first reservist ever to win the competition.

Four members of California's congressional delegation, three from the Bay Area, have written a letter to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag protesting the continued federal crackdown against suppliers of medical marijuana whose activities have been deemed legal under state law.

Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) has introduced legislation that would use federal funds to replace much of California's Redevelopment Agency development obligations that were declared illegal by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Called the "Restarting Local Economies Act of 2013," Swalwell's bill would make it easier for communities in California to obtain federal redevelopment funding.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Air Force should air drop humanitarian supplies and food to the most remote and inaccessible areas of the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, several lawmakers wrote to the US defense secretary and the USAID head.

U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (CA-15) and Jackie Speier (CA-14) wrote to Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Raj Shah, requesting the airdrops. The bipartisan letter was signed by 36 members of Congress.

Filipinos currently in the United States should be allowed to remain temporarily after their visas expire due to Typhoon Haiyan's devastation of the Philippines, say members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, led 28 other members in calling upon the Obama Administration to grant visiting Filipinos "temporary protected status" given the extraordinary circumstances.