WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers have been quick to condemn the sudden drop in the value of Chinese currency as damaging for American businesses and workers, reviving an issue that once was one of the biggest sources of tension between the two world powers.
Here's today's political quiz question: What do these five states — Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, California and Maine — have in common? Yes, they are blue states ruled by Democrats, but that's not all. These are the states that use the least amount of coal — 2 percent or less — for electric power.
In fact, almost all the states that are politically liberal and vote unfailingly Democratic are low coal-use states. For instance, Washington, New York, Oregon and New Jersey are also in the top 10 states least reliant on coal. Only conservative Idaho is a red state with low coal consumption.
