It was one of the coldest, harshest winters in history… or was it?

This past weekend, the city of Boston officially set the record for its snowiest winter ever. That city has received a staggering 108.6 inches of snow this winter and it could be seeing even more snow tomorrow, just in time for the start of spring. But Boston wasn’t the only city that faced snowstorm after snowstorm this winter.

Up and down the East Coast, winter hit with a vengeance. It brought frigid temperatures and blinding snowstorms to millions and millions of Americans. In fact, if you ask anyone living on the East Coast about this winter, they’d probably tell you it was one of the coldest winters in recent memory.

And, people like Senator Jim Inhofe, America’s climate change-denier-in-chief, would tell you that this winter was proof that climate change and global warming are a big joke. But here’s the thing: The East Coast was the only part of the United States this winter that was cold.

That’s right. According to new data from NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the East Coast was the only part of the U.S. that saw cooler than average temperatures this winter. In fact, this was the 19th warmest winter for the contiguous United States ever, with much of the country seeing warmer than average temperatures.

Out west, California, Nevada, Washington, Utah and Arizona all saw record warm temperatures, while continuing to deal with a devastating drought. Meanwhile, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico all saw temperatures way above normal.

But the United States isn’t alone in having an unusually unseasonable winter. Globally, this has been the warmest winter in history. From the United Kingdom to Japan, nearly all of the Northern Hemisphere has seen above normal temperatures this winter.

Read more here.

-Thom

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Why the 'people's budget' works (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Be sure to check out our new videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio

Need to Know: Why the 'people's budget' works
- Richard Eskow, Campaign for America's Future / The Zero Hour

Screwed: Iraq war anniversary - where's the accountability?
- Marianne Williamson, SisterGiant3

Plus, Students protest over honor student police beating
- Ron Hampton, National Black Police Association / Institute of the Black World

Best of the Rest: What happened to the missing enriched uranium
- Jared Anderson, Breaking Energy

Thursday's Daily Stack

Site: SisterGiant.com.

Video: Marianne Williamson | Sister Giant 2015 | March 28-29 | Live in Los Angeles and Livestream.

Article: "Drought-stricken California only has one year of water left, Nasa scientist warns" by Amanda Holpuch.

Article: "The Only Place It Was Cold This Winter Was The East Coast Of The United States" by Joe Romm.

Article: "Study finds more evidence for link between wavy jet stream and extreme weather" by Kirk Moore.

Video: FFRF Ron Reagan Ad.

Site: Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Site: Fantastic Fungi.

Site: Fantastic Fungi kickstarter.

Article: "Netanyahu Back To Barely Pretending He Supports A Two-State Solution" by Igor Bobic.

Article: "Netanyahu Will Make History" by Thomas L. Friedman.

Video: President Barack Obama Speaks With VICE News.

Article: "Walker administration proposes 17% pay hikes for troopers" by Patrick Marley.

Article: "Obama Talks to VICE News About Climate Change, Marijuana Legalization, and the Islamic State" by Liz Fields.

Article: "‘I’m Embarrassed for Them’: Obama Hits Back at Republican Senators' Letter to Iran Over Nuclear Deal" by Liz Fields.

Article: "Fox News Suggests Obamacare Enrollment Numbers Aren't Real, Cites Anonymous "Independent Expert"" by Alexandrea Boguhn.

Article: "Senate GOP budget cuts less than House, balances in decade" by Senate GOP budget cuts less than House, balances in decade.

Article: "The People’s Budget: A Raise for America" by Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Site: Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).

Article: "The Results Are In: Israel Is an Authoritarian State and We Can No Longer Deny It" by Zaid Jilani.

Book: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter.

Article: "When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt (And Why It Didn't Last)" by NPR.

Hour Two: Who is hijacking our democracy now?
- Ona Porter, Prosperity Works

Article: "1,000% Interest - Good While Supplies Last: A Study of Payday Loan Practices and Solutions" by Nathalie Martin .

Case: "Marquette Nat. Bank V. First Of Omaha Corp.", 1978.

Site: Loan Shark Attack New Mexico.

Article: "Exxon Valdez oil spill" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Rick Santorum refuses to question fan’s conspiracy rant about Obama trying to ‘nuke’ Charleston" by Arturo Garcia.

The good: Tick Segerblom: "Nevada bill would allow sick pets to use medical marijuana" by Michelle Rindels.

The bad: "Fischer: Discrimination Against Homosexuality Is Not Discrimination Against People" by Kyle Mantyla.

The very, very ugly: "Penn State Frat Suspended After Police Discovered Their Repulsive Facebook Group" by Tara Culp-Ressler.

Article: "Poll Of Likely 2016 Voters" by GBA Strategies on behalf of the Progressive Change Institute.

Article: "Climate Impacts in Alaska" by EPA.

Article: "Cyclone Pam: Is it time for a category-6 cyclone rating?" by Peter Hannam.

Article: "The melting of Antarctica was already really bad. It just got worse." by Chris Mooney.

Article: "A Brief History Of American "Major Parties" and the "Two-Party" System in the United States" by Richard E. Berg-andersson.

Article: "Republican Party Platform of 1856", June 18, 1856.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Bob Ney

Article: "House Budget Committee Passes GOP Federal Budget" by William McDonald.

Article: "House panel passes GOP budget amid rancor over defense spending" by John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman.

Article: "Marco Rubio on Obama’s mandatory voting comments: ‘Not voting is also a legitimate choice’".

Article: "On Israeli election day, Netanyahu warns of Arabs voting ‘in droves’" by Ishaan Tharoor.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

Book: "Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill" by Robert Ney.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 3/19" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 3/18" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "UVA student Martese Johnson reportedly beaten by police, Virginia governor calls for investigation" by AP.

Article: "FEMA To States: You Want Cash? Say Climate Change Is Real. SAY IT!" by Doktor Zoom.

Article: "Florida Officials Banned From Using the Terms ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Sustainability’" by Tristram Korten.

Article: "Obama suggests requiring everyone to vote" by Max Ehrenfreund.

Clip: "Paul Weyrich - "I don't want everybody to vote" (Goo Goo)".

Article: "Study of Disputed Florida Ballots Finds Justices Did Not Cast the Deciding Vote" by Ford Fessenden and John M. Broder, November 12, 2001.

Article: "Oregon will be the first state to automatically register voters" by Andrew Prokop.

Article: "FEMA To States: You Want Cash? Say Climate Change Is Real. SAY IT!" by Doktor Zoom.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "How I Buy Weed" by Catherine Hiller.

Article: "My child is an honor student, but my governor---".

Article: "Republicans’ Latest Salvo In Anti-Immigrant Fight: Take Away Social Security Numbers" by Esther Yu-Hsi Lee.

Article: "Tehran Tom Cotton was Bribed almost a Million Bucks to Send the Iran Letter" by riqster.

Article: "Occupy Teotihuacan: Ancient 1-percenters killed pre-Aztec society with wealth inequality, study finds" by Scott Kaufman.

Article: "Saudi woman sentenced to 70 lashes for allegedly insulting man on WhatsApp" by Henry Austin.

Article: "The Coming China Crisis" by Richard Vague.

Article: "Study finds that conservatives pretend they’re happy, but liberals actually are" by Seriously Science.

Article: "Conservatives report, but liberals display, greater happiness" by Sean P. Wojcik1, Arpine Hovasapian, Jesse Graham, Matt Moty, Peter H. Ditto1.

Article: "Storefront Lending Lobbyists Spend Big In New Mexico" by Trip Jennings.

Article: "San Francisco Progressives Push For Lowering Minimum Voter Age To 16 For Local Elections" by Phil Matier.

Book: Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller.

Article: "17th Amendment. "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof..."

Article: "Chuck Schumer's Cure for Democrats" by Russell Berman.

Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

It's Friday and that means it's Brunch with Bernie...America's Senator Bernie Sanders will be here talking about all the important issues of the week and he'll be taking YOUR calls too!

And Marianne Williamson will be telling us about the Sister Giant conference weekend featuring speakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Congressman Dennis Kuchinich and Thom Hartmann.

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Is President Obama to blame for failing to close Gitmo?

Vote here!

Ani's open letter to the new Saudi king

E-Mail Gate...Jeb Bush, BUSTED!

Rumble: GOP to AG Nomination - "Go to the Back of the Bus!"

A Lesson on Oligarchs from China

Rumble: GOP Budget Guts Wall Street Reform

Netanyahu Wins - Apartheid Continues

Climate Scientists are Fighting Back - It Gets Personal!

Full Show 3/18/15: Netanyahu Wins. Apartheid Continues

Thom discusses the reelection of Benjamin Netanyahu with the Jewish Voice for Peace’s Naomi Dann and the new climate change campaign from the climate science community with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Gretchen Goldman and NOAA’s Tom DiLiberto. Tonight’s “Big Picture Rumble” talks the GOP’s refusal to confirm Loretta Lynch and how the GOP budget would mess with Social Security, repeal Obamacare and roll back the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform laws. In tonight’s “Daily Take” Thom discusses how China is teaching us how to take on corporate criminals.

What the Hell is Wrong with our Media?

The Progressive Budget...

Caller: The World sees Israel as it saw the U.S. in 2004...

Obama Sets the Record Straight...

Israel the Apartheid State...

Caller: There's no Proof Humans Caused Global Warming!

Why Can't we Treat Big Oil Like China Does?

Hedge Fund Founder Warns of Another Recession...

Does America Hate God?

What is Muslims for Progressive Values?