Over the weekend, government officials and news agencies were playing a game of “Where's Snowden.” The NSA whistle-blower made a sudden departure from Hong Kong, reportedly traveling to Moscow, Russia. Snowden was then not in his seat for the next flight, which would have brought him from Russia to Cuba.

On Thursday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives managed to kill the $940 billion dollar farm bill. GOP lawmakers were quick to blame Democrats for the failure, because they did not deliver 40 votes. However, Democrats pointed to huge cuts to food assistance, and a poison pill amendment from Florida Representative Steve Southerland as their reasons for voting against the bill.

As if the news of the NSA's phone and internet spying weren't enough to worry us, the FBI has just admitted to using surveillance drones to spy on Americans on US soil.

Yesterday, Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings released the full transcript of a five-hour hearing on the IRS's alleged targeting of Tea Party Groups. And – it proves everything Congressman Cummings has been saying all along – the White House was not involved in deciding which groups were required to provide additional information to the IRS before getting tax-exempt status.

This morning, NSA director Keith Alexander and other intelligence officials testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The Committee chairman, Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, convened the hearing to defend the NSA's internet and phone surveillance programs.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States made it much more difficult for Arizona to disenfranchise voters. In 2004, Arizona voters approved a law which required election officials to reject any voter registration that was not accompanied with proof of citizenship.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is fighting hard for government transparency, and it has nothing to do with the NSA. On Thursday, Senator Warren sent a letter to President Obama's U.S. trade negotiations nominee, calling on the Administration to publicly release documents about the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented, because they are a product of nature. However, the offered a compromise which allowed synthetic, complementary DNA, known as cDNA, to be protected by patent law, because it is not naturally occurring.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will do anything to avoid getting any actual work done. As if 37 votes to repeal Obamacare didn't waste enough taxpayer time and money, the House GOP has decided to vote on a 20-week abortion ban, despite the fact that the bill would never be approved by the Senate.

Today, the United States Senate will begin debate on the so-called comprehensive immigration plan. Senators will consider the overall legislation, and dozens of amendments, before a final vote can be reached. The debate is likely to last weeks, which means a decision may be delayed until after the Senate's Fourth of July recess.

One of our nation's richest men, billionaire Nick Hanauer, just destroyed the GOP's economic talking points. In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Hanauer explained why rich people like him are not, in fact, the real job creators.

Yesterday, we learned that our government has been spying on cell phone records. And, last night we found out that the National Security Agency and the FBI are mining data on the servers of at least nine major technology companies. Under a top-secret program, known as PRISM, our government has been collecting audio, video, e-mail, and more from companies like Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Skype, and Apple.

One of our nation's largest phone carriers, Verizon, is sharing information on millions of customers with the NSA. According to the Guardian newspaper, a secret court order issued in April requires Verizon to hand over all call records on an “ongoing, daily basis.”

Yesterday, President Obama dared Republicans to continue their obstruction by announcing three nominations to the DC District Court of Appeals. His nominees are U.S. District Court Judge Leon Wilkins, Georgetown law professor Cornelia Pillard, and Patricia Ann Millett, a partner at the prestigious law firm Akin Gump.

Yesterday, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg passed away, after months of ailing health. The New Jersey Senator was 89, and he was the last remaining World War II veteran in the Senate. Throughout his five terms in office, Senator Lautenberg was a champion for progressive issues. He fought for causes ranging from women's health to LGBT equality to ending the subsidies for Big Oil.