{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/122414", "News December 24", "2014-12-24", "2014", "2014-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News December 24\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWednesday, December 24, 2014\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nFairPoint Strike Sen. Sanders renewed his call for FairPoint Communications to return to the bargaining table and negotiate with unions representing 1,700 striking works in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. \u201cI worry very much about the quality of service that FairPoint is providing,\u201d he noted in the WCAX-TV interview. Meanwhile, New Hampshire delayed action on a $13 million state contract with FairPoint. \"I have big concerns \u2026 FairPoint right now wouldn't live up to the terms in the contract,\" Democratic Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern said. VIDEO\u00a0\r\nSingle Payer Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin\u2019s decision to step back from developing the nation\u2019s first single-payer health care system was \u201cobviously a disappointment for many people in the state,\u201d Sen. Sanders said in the WCAX-TV interview. \u201cI look forward to working with the governor to see how we go forward.\u201d The governor\u2019s surprise announcement last week came as Sanders was touting Vermont as a model for the nation, Steve Early wrote for The Huffington Post and Truthout.org. VIDEO, LINK, LINK\u00a0\r\nPostal Service With layoffs looming for up to 15,000 postal workers, Congress adjourned without passing a one-year moratorium on reduced mail delivery standards and plant closings, according to John Nichols of The Nation. He counted Sen. Sanders among the Postal Service\u2019s \u201cgenuine advocates in Congress.\u201d LINK\r\nPre-K Education Vermont recently was awarded what is expected to be a four-year federal grant of more than $30 million for early-childhood education. \u201cI am very excited about that. I am a member of the education committee and we worked very hard on that,\u201d Sen. Sanders said in an interview on WCAX-TV. \u201cWhat the psychologists tell us is that the age from zero to four are the most important years in development. VIDEO, LINK\r\n$1 Million for Vets Home The Vermont Veterans\u2019 Home stands a good chance of receiving nearly $1 million from the\u00a0federal government to renovate its aging kitchen. Sen. Sanders said the Department of Veterans Affairs has placed the Vermont Veterans\u2019 Home on a priority list for a federal matching grant, the Bennington Banner and Stars and Stripes reported. LINK, LINK\r\nHappy Holidays Sen. Sanders in November introduced legislation\u00a0to create a national holiday on Election Day, the Huffington Post noted in a report on the history of national holidays in the United States. LINK\r\nWorld\u00a0\r\nISIS Shoots Down Jet From U.S.-Led Coalition Militants from the Islamic State extremist group have shot down a fighter jet over Syria deployed by the United States-led coalition that is battling the group and have captured a pilot from an Arab country, a Syrian monitoring organization told The New York Times on Wednesday. LINK\r\nLeahy Helps Cuban Mother A U.S. senator who paved the way for a Cuban prisoner to impregnate his wife while he was behind bars in the United States said Tuesday that his efforts had nothing to do with politics. Adriana Perez is almost nine months pregnant, thanks to artificial insemination with sperm from convicted spy Gerardo Hernandez \u2014 and secret assistance from Sen. Patrick Leahy. \"It was a human thing. It had nothing to do with the politics of the two countries,\" Leahy said in an interview aired Tuesday on the NBC News program \u201cToday.\u201d LINK\r\nNational\r\nEconomic Rebound The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy expanded at a 5 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate in the third quarter, its strongest pace in 11 years. In a separate report, the department said consumer spending accelerated last month amid rising incomes and falling gasoline prices, according to The Wall Street Journal. LINK\u00a0\r\nFDA Modifies Gay Blood Donor Rule The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would scrap a decades-old lifetime prohibition on blood donation by gay and bisexual men but continue to ban men who have had sex with a man in the last year, saying the barrier is necessary to keep the blood supply safe, The New York Times reported. LINK\u00a0\r\n\u2018The Interview\u2019 Sony Pictures Entertainment announced Tuesday a limited theatrical release of \"The Interview\" beginning Thursday, putting back into the theaters the comedy that prompted an international incident with North Korea, threats of violence and outrage over its cancelled release. The Palace 9 Cinemas in South Burlington will start screening the controversial film \u201cThe Interview\u201d on New Year\u2019s Eve.\r\nVermont\r\nGas Prices Some Vermonters continue to benefit from plummeting gasoline prices. According to GasBuddy.com, the lowest price in Vermont right now is $2.39 a gallon at the Troy Country Store and Butler's Family Auto in Barton. The average price in the state is $2.79 a gallon. Burlington area stations, however, are among those on the top end of the scale with prices as high as $2.99 a gallon, WCAX-TV reported. LINK\u00a0\r\nVermont Census The Census Bureau on Tuesday estimated Vermont\u2019s population in 2014 dipped slightly to 626,562 people. Wyoming was smaller with 584,153 people. The District of Columbia grew to 658,893. Florida overcame New York as the third most populace state behind California and Texas. LINK\r\nSingle Payer \u201cMr. Shumlin has succeeded in making Vermont a national model: By admitting that single payer will make health care both more expensive and less efficient, he has shown other states what not to do,\u201d an editorial in The Wall Street Journal concluded. LINK\r\nKeurig Recall Waterbury-based Keurig Green Mountain is recalling millions of home brewing machines from stores in the U.S. and Canada due to a potential safety hazard. The company says in some cases Keurig MINI Plus Brewing Systems have overheated and sprayed hot water on users, Vermont Public Radio reported. 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