West Virginia has declared a state of emergency, with roughly 300,000 residents being told to not drink their water because of a possible contamination from a coal chemical.---

Top of the Alty World

“West Virginia Declares State of Emergency After Coal Chemical Contaminates Drinking Water”--Think Progress

The scandal of a political-vendetta traffic jam in New Jersey complicates Gov. Chris Christie's political ambitions.--The Nation

In honor of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie telling reporters at the “Bridgegate” press conference that he is not a “bully,” here's a video of him belittling and bullying people.--Mother Jones

Senators Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Rand Paul, R-KY, have become the senate's odd couple.--The Root

Top of Alty Utah

The state has decided it will not recognize same-sex marriage in the state while the Supreme Court deliberates Utah's case.--Salt Lake City Weekly

Equality and same-sex advocates are rallying to fundraise for the lawsuit against the state's bid for marriage inequality.--Salt Lake City Weekly

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker targets dirty air in state of the city address.--Utah Political Capitol

An analysis show Rep. Jim Matheson, D-UT, was most likely to co-sponsor bills with Republicans in Congress, and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-UT, was ranked #2 for being able to get bills out of committee.--Utah Policy

Rantosphere

Holly on the Hill takes a swipe at Utah's culture of corruption revealed by the investigations into the Attorney General's office.

“Ending the culture of corruption must go further than the resignation of John Swallow. The bullying must end. The win-at-all costs mentality must change. The politics of personal destruction must be condemned. If Jason Powers is out of the picture, but candidates are willing to hire those who would take his spot, no good will have come of all this.”--Holly on the Hill

The Long View

Foreign Policy looks at the the troubling problem of the Mexican drug war's disappearances of hundreds of thousands of citizens.

“But unlike the dirty-war disappearances, which followed a sinister logic in targeting specific sectors of the population, there is no single explanation for why so many people have gone missing in Mexico's drug war, or for what has happened to them. I have spent over three years investigating more than 300 disappearances across 11 Mexican states for Human Rights Watch. I've found that, if these disappearances share anything in common, it is that the government has done almost nothing to try to find the missing. And it has consistently failed to pursue the obvious lines of evidence that, in case after case -- including Israel Arenas Durán's -- point to collusion between the cartels and the very soldiers and police sent to combat them.”--Foreign Policy